Faith, Ethics, or Free Time: The Issue of Religion at Post-Primary level

The way Religion is approached in Irish schools is a strange one. 

When you ask the average Irish teenager about religion class, the answers you’ll get usually fall somewhere between an eye-roll and “ah sure, it’s grand for a bit of a break”. On paper, it’s meant to be this big, serious subject: exploring faith, morality, philosophy and world religions, as set out by extensive curriculum and learning outcomes. In reality, it’s often treated as the class you don’t have to study too hard for, or the one where ‘’If you’re lucky, I’ll bring you for a walk down the town’’. 

The first thing I have to acknowledge is the wide variety of approaches that schools have the liberty to take when implementing the subject.  If you’re in a Catholic secondary school (which still make up the majority in Ireland), religion is often mandatory. While it is not always examinable, it is usually enforced at least as a “non-exam subject” class you sit through, especially for Junior Cycle. In ETB schools (institutions set up by the state rather than a religious order or board of management), it is usually taught in a broader, more multi-denominational way. In these settings, these classes are usually not even called ‘religion’ classes.

As of September 2023, 201,102 pupils were in multi-denominational post-primary (secondary) schools: about 48.3% of all enrolments. At the same time, 199,292 pupils were in Catholic secondary schools, about 47.8%. This is the first time ever in Irish history that more students have ever been enrolled in multi-denominational post-primary in comparison to their Catholic counterparts. This inability to establish a set way of implementing religion in Secondary Schools is where the root of our issue appears from. There’s no one-size-fits-all. In some schools religion is at the heart of the ethos, in others it’s more of a box-ticking exercise. 

For students though, the perception of religion is pretty clear. Most don’t take religion as seriously as they would maths, history, or a modern language. It’s not seen as a “career subject,” students typically perform worse as they overlook studying for it in exams and generally,  most see it as either a soft subject or a free class. Now, that’s not to say every student dismisses it, and when taken at leaving cert by free choice, LC students tend to score quite high in comparison to other subjects. However, the overall vibe? Religion class is often more “downtime” than “deep reflection.”

To make matters worse, training to be a religion teacher in Ireland isn’t exactly straightforward either. There are only a few degree programmes dedicated partially to religious education (Maynooth, DCU and ATU come to mind). And even within those courses, a lot of people end up teaching multiple subjects (religion with English, history, music, etc.), because just being a religion teacher on its own isn’t always sustainable. That tells you a lot: if the system itself doesn’t prioritise religion as a stand-alone discipline, how can students be expected to?

And what about the teachers’own attitude? Many do take their job seriously. However, as a subject that is taken for granted by both students and parents, every class can feel like a battle in trying to convince kids that ‘‘Hey, guys listen. This stuff is worth listening to’’. As a religion teacher myself, I have studied theology, ethics, philosophy and world religions to the point I would love to have open and real conversations in the classroom. But the reality is, when you’ve got a room full of teenagers who see your subject as “easy,” it’s an uphill climb. Even some teachers will quietly admit that religion can feel like a ‘‘doss’’ class when compared to the big hitters like science or maths.

The end result? Religion in Irish schools sits in this weird limbo. Officially, it’s an important part of the curriculum and the ethos of many schools. Unofficially, it’s the class where students can switch off, or where schools vary wildly in how much weight they give it. And that inconsistency is actually detrimental to the subject. It means that religion doesn’t get respected as a field of study in the same way history or geography do. Instead of being an opportunity to seriously engage with philosophy, ethics, and the role of belief in society, it’s often remembered as “the easy class.”

Which is kind of a shame. At its best, religious education could be exactly the subject where students learn to think critically about the big questions: how we live, what we believe, how we treat others. As a religion teacher myself, I feel inspired and motivated to have the opportunity to teach this subject. However, until the system, the teachers, and the students all start taking it more seriously, religion might be forced to keep sitting in that awkward spot between important subjects and a glorified free class.

• DCU
• post-primary school
• religion
• teachers