Minimalist change to census question on religion will not stop rise of the nonreligious

by Michael Nugent on July 11, 2019

The minimalist change to the religion question in the 2021 Irish census will mask, but not stop, the relentless increase in the number of nonreligious people in Ireland.

Some change to the religion question was inevitable, as the results were increasingly not reflecting reality, but this is the smallest improvement to the question that could have been made.

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Remembering Grania Spingies (video and photos from her memorial event)

June 29, 2019

Grania Spingies died on Sunday 16 June 2019, a week before her 49th birthday. She was a founding member and first secretary of Atheist Ireland, and a contributor to Jerry Coyne’s website Why Evolution is True. Her family and friends gathered to remember her in Glanmire, Cork, on Thursday 27 June.

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Remembering Grania Spingies

June 18, 2019

We at Atheist Ireland were shocked to hear of the untimely death of our friend Grania Spingies, Grania Spingies died on Sunday 16 June 2019, a week before her 49th birthday. She was one of the founders and the first Secretary of Atheist Ireland, and one of the moderators of the online forum out of […]

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What is the legal dispute that has halted the Dublin European Election count?

May 28, 2019

The Dublin European Election count was adjourned last night after a dispute about how the third and fourth seats should be filled. I’ve checked to see what the election law says about this, and it seems that an additional set of transfers, beyond the normal range of transfers, is needed.

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Who should you vote for if you want State-run schools to respect the rights of atheists and secularists?

May 22, 2019

This Friday, 24th May, we will elect Local Councillors, who will also be members of Education and Training Boards and the Boards of Management of ETB Schools. Three weeks ago, Atheist Ireland wrote to all political parties, asking them to support the right of students to attend ETB schools without attending religion classes, and for students […]

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Donegal ETB, in Minister for Education’s constituency, unlawfully coerces students into religion classes

April 24, 2019

Atheist Ireland has obtained under the Freedom of Information Act an email and letter from last September, from Donegal Education and Training Board, in the Minister for Education’s constituency. In that internal exchange, the ETB’s Director of Schools advised Moville Community College to “write to the parents of the opt out students and get them […]

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Atheist Ireland holds protest outside TUI National Congress to protect the right to opt out of religion class

April 24, 2019

Atheist Ireland is today holding a protest outside the Teachers Union of Ireland National Congress in the INEC Centre in Killarney, Kerry, to coincide with the Minister for Education, Joe McHugh, addressing the conference. We are highlighting two things: The Teachers Union of Ireland refused to implement a lawful directive from the Department, that gave […]

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Jane Donnelly, Armin Navabi, and Freedom From Religion Foundation given Atheist of the Year Awards

March 31, 2019

Jane Donnelly of Atheist Ireland was given the Atheist and Feminist of the Year award at the 2019 International Days of Atheism conference in Warsaw, Poland, this weekend. Armin Navabi, founder of Atheist Republic, was named individual Atheist of the Year, and the Freedom From Religion Foundation in USA got the group award.

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Speech in Poland – Review of the Campaign Against the Irish Blasphemy Law

March 29, 2019

I gave this speech today, Friday 29 March 2019, at the Days of Atheism Conference in Warsaw, Poland. When Atheist Ireland was founded ten years ago, our first task was simply to normalise the use of the words atheism and secularism in public debate. We have come a long way since then. The Catholic Church […]

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How State Schools Break The Rules – New Report from Atheist ireland​

March 10, 2019

Atheist Ireland has published a major new report titled How State Schools Break The Rules. It explains how the Department of Education, the ETBs, and the NCCA are breaching Constitutional and Human Rights and the IHREC Act in Religious Education in ETB schools. We will be using this report as the basis of our political lobbying […]

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