Secularism in the Republic of Ireland
Period of sociopolitical and cultural change in Ireland / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Secularism in the Republic of Ireland has been described as a "Quiet Revolution",[1] comparable to the Quiet Revolution in Quebec. It is an unofficial term that encompasses a number of significant social and political movements related to secularism and secularization, which have occurred within the last thirty years, and involved no violence or force.[2][3] It has been described as a period where "the people led, and the politicians followed".[4] Since the passing of a 1972 amendment with overwhelming public support, Ireland has had a secular constitution, although a high degree of religious influence over laws, education, and state business still persisted in the decades which followed, diminishing only in more recent times. In an assessment of the Irish state's overall secularity, Humanists International gave Ireland a mixed score (2.8 points out of a maximum of 5 for violations of freedom of thought), finding "systematic discrimination" against non-religious people in government, education, and society.[5]
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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar spoke of the country's contemporary era using the term "Quiet Revolution" following Ireland's historic repeal vote of the country's constitutional ban on abortion in 2018.[6] This particular event which repealed the Eighth Amendment was labelled the tipping point. Other instances of secularized agenda and practice among the Irish public, figures, and the government have accumulated in the country to reflect the contemporary era of attitudinal change. One of these instances was in 2011 when then-Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny made a parliamentary condemnation speech of the Vatican's response to clerical child abuse allegations during the Commission of Investigation into the Catholic diocese of Cloyne.[7] Kenny's words; "the dysfunction, the disconnection, the elitism that dominate the culture of the Vatican today", were met with nation-wide support in public, political and clerical domains.[8][9]:ā0:00:50ā
The Constitution of Ireland says that "no law may be made either directly or indirectly to endow any religion". However, in practice, the religions are legally and financially endowed by the state, most notably in the provision of state-funded services, including education, where 90% of schools have Catholic "patronage".[5] In contravention of the constitution's requirement of neutrality on religious questions, the Dail and Seanad also begin all sessions with prayer.[5] Other violations include that hospitals, like schools, enjoy religious patronage and may discriminate against non-religious people by prioritising religious patients.[5] The constitution also has some contradictory requirements on the question of secularism and equal treatment of different religious and philosophical convictions. For example, at present a non-religious person cannot lawfully be president; the President is required to take a religious oath, and a non-religious alternative is not provided for. This means that for a non-religious to become president, they must lie about or obfuscate their beliefs.[5] The same lack of non-religious provision applies in criminal justice, too; all witnesses and jurors must make a religious oath and cannot instead make a secular affirmation in open court (as they can in the United Kingdom).[5]