PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS suggest that religion be limited in schools, with a large majority of teachers indicating faith formation, including preparations for sacraments, should take place outside the school.

Just 4% of the respondents think it should be the primary schools responsibility to prepare children for sacraments such as communion and confirmation.

A further 18% thought the family, parish and schools should be responsible to prepare children for sacrament. Together, it means that just 22% feel that it should be either wholly partly on schools to do so. 

A majority of respondents, 57%, believe that faith formation should not take place in primary schools, according to a report by the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) released yesterday. 

The INTO said there were a number of themes that rose from the report on the question of religion being a part of primary schools.

Proponents for teaching religion in schools serves as a way to instill moral values and foster a sense of empathy, while others conversely highlighted the importance of teaching a variety of world religions to promote tolerance, respect and diverse beliefs. 

In the survey, 83% of respondents believed children in primary schools should be taught about various religions. 

Many respondents of the survey indicated that parents and religious institutions should take the primary responsibility of faith formation outside of school hours. Some respondents also indicated that a dedicated religious education teacher could take on the role if the class teacher is not comfortable teaching religion. 

Denominations 

A majority of respondents, 87%, said there are pupils at their denominational school who are not of the faith of the school. The findings of the survey indicated the need for more supports to accommodate those students. 

The survey results also showed that 33% of respondents teach religion willingly, while 20% would prefer not to teach it. An additional 19% are willing to teach broad religious education but would rather not teach a specific faith.

The survey was sent to over 5,000 primary school teachers, with a response rate of 21% with a total of 1,049 respondents.

The INTO also published its recommendations of the taskforce on the future of school patronage in Ireland today. Among the recommendations are: accelerate the divestment process, ensuring an inclusive enrolment process, and addressing ‘opt-out’ arrangements.

The INTO’s annual congress is being held today in Galway. At the conference, the delegates will debate the issue of patronage and barriers to diversity in education.