Opinion: Removing Catholic symbols and practices from Irish State schools no easy task

The boundary between religion and culture is a fuzzy one, and not just in Ireland, argues Professor Ronan McCrea (UCL Laws). The news that the more than 200 Irish secondary schools run by the State Education and Training Boards are to phase out specifically Catholic symbols and practices was unsurprising. These schools are formally multidenominational so mandatory Masses, Catholic symbols and visits by diocesan inspectors have come to be seen as increasingly inappropriate in a country whose population includes rapidly rising numbers of non-Catholics and, indeed, non-religious people. However, while mandatory Masses and diocesan inspections are clearly unsustainable in contemporary Ireland, working out what symbols and arrangements should stay or go is likely to be a difficult task. The General Secretary of Education and Training Boards Ireland has stated that the overall goal is "catering for children of all religious and non-religious worldviews equally". The problem is that given the fuzzy border between religion and culture, achieving absolute equality between all religions is extraordinarily difficult. Christianity has been one of the biggest, perhaps the biggest, influence on Irish and European culture over the centuries.