What’s your most controversial opinion? **Read OP** **Mod Note in Post #3372**

past experience has shown this to be the case in fairness.

past experience has shown this to be the case in fairness.

Just ban all religion for children. Problem solved.

That will be a good start.

Freedom of religion has to also mean freedom from it being forced upon you without your consent, adult or child, and children can't consent to a lot of things

It should, but it doesn't. What it actually means is that it gives the parents the right to indoctrinate their children under their right to practice their religion, which include teaching said religion to their children.

I don't think you understand the context under which this amendment to the constitution was made. And really don't think you know what was there before it was replaced by this amendment.

Considering the historical issues with religion in Ireland the fears of minorities and the holocaust being very recent in the mind of people in the 70's this article was considered liberal and forward thinking for it's time.

While the opening line is obviously an issue I don't have broader concerns around this particular article of the constitution.

As a non-believer the constitution doesn't protect my rights, it trashes them. It claims that I have to worship[*] some fella called "Almighty God" and that the powers of the government of my country do not derive from the people but from this mythical being.

[*]well, strictly speaking not me, as long as "due homage and worship" is offered, I suppose I could leave that up to the god botherers and it'd get me off the hook? But more troubling is the bit that says the State must "respect and honour religion". Why? As far as I'm concerned they might as well insist that the State must respect and honour tiddlywinks, although I'm not aware of any tiddlywinks rape rings or a global coverup of the sexual misdeeds of high-ranking tiddlywinkers

?? what you are talking about is exactly what 89% of our state-funded primary schools do every day, for more time than they spend on science and foreign languages added together. i.e. Indoctrinating children. When it's communion year… normal schooling goes out the window.

And yeah RCC and other Christian churches teach the "do what we say or burn forever" thing. They might no longer launch straight into that (using a candle) at age 4 like they used to, but what's the point of having a paradise if everyone can get in? 🙄

The whole eastern Europe seems more religious now even though they all had a form or other of religion control.

This is among an older generation and a reaction to a worse oppressor - Soviet communist tyranny. I'm not sure how many of the people who went to the weekly marches that started at the church in Leipzig actually believed in a god, but this proved useful for both religious and non-religious opponents to the oppressive regime. Maybe most of those who went in adoration of JPII on his visit to Poland (or, here!) were devoutly religious, but a great many who showed up were not. I know at least one fella who just went to Galway in the hope of a ride.

PiS et al. in the former Warsaw Pact countries don't have much appeal among people who are young, or educated, or urban so will die out

reaction to a worse oppressor - Soviet communist tyranny

Not really, it's much simpler, they tried to repress religion but they didn't try hard enough, as it would require a lot of effort and also given that religion is passed on at home the effort would have been pointless. And they realized that it's better to recruit the priests (as informers) rather than oppress them. Also, many of the far left ideas have a lot in common with the church's ultraconservative ideas which kind of explains why people that were educated during communism now have a weird attraction to the far right parties and ideas in the eastern europe.

Religious institutions are exempt from the Equal Status Act

That means some hospitals, and most schools, can fire you to protect their "ethos" even though it's the taxpayer and not the church that pays your wages.

It explicitly references the Christian god in the preamble, so all the subsequent references are clearly to that god as well

I don't know why people keep referring to the 1970s, the constitution was enacted in 1937

Which article?

Two articles referring to religion were deleted in 1972, they were not replaced with anything then or since

Where did I say I wanted to replace them with anything?

I'll ask again, what article was enacted in the 1970s?