Schools Page

Here we will attempt to provide resources for you to use in the whole area of Cults, Sects and New Religious movements. Some schools are in the VEC system, others are Comprehensive, yet others are Community schools. Some have a Catholic ethos, others have a Protestant one. In this time of transition there are all kinds of challenges
in regard to the issue of religion. Faith development in the north has a totally different feel than does that of the Post Christian Republic. Also the move away from schools having religious congregations directly involved in running schools is near complete. This will raise new questions about the role of religion in the school. Also the change from religious chaplains will also change the horizon. Also the shape of say a Presbyterian School hardly having any Presbyterians, or a situation where a lot of young people have already practically exited from the school by second level is going to raise severe problems for the teaching of religion.

We now have religion as an exam subject in the leaving cert, but not every school takes it on. Then the section on cults is optional, so some teachers will not be interested in that particular issue. Also some schools relegate religion to a second class status, so it is important to reflect on the ethos you have to teach in or the absence of one.

We will also reflect on the presence of different confessions in the class, and when I give talks I have had Muslims both Shia and Sunni, Bahais, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Buddhists, Atheists, Agnostics, Mormons, Baptists, Pentecostals and others to mention a few. We must have respect for these generally young adults who would be in the sixth year often choosing these days to participate in the religious ethos of the school. A major modern problem is not exclusion but certain schools believe that they must actually play down their values and beliefs in order to facilitate minorities in their midst. You will find below an introduction to our services, and links to sites which will assist in the provision of religious education.

School programme links: Republic of Ireland version – Northern Ireland version

References from teachers we have worked with.

Letter to Principals to gain access to schools.

An example on Religious policy of Loreto Dalkey (Word document).

Do send in others you think others might find helpful.

Direct link to article specifically addressed to Religion teachers involved with teaching about Cults, Sects and New religious Movements (NRMs.)

Here is a link to the Religious Education Support (RES) site which has a lot of interesting material for teachers - http://www.ress.ie/

We will also put up a variety of articles on various Religious Movements of interest to teachers in our A2Z section, as well as providing full documentaries in our resources section.

Tel (01) 830 9384

Fax (01) 874 4913

Mobile (087) 2396229

Email address: info@dialogueireland.org

Website: www.dialogueireland.org