[Catharsis.]

I can't find a half-decent article on it, I'm afraid, but I wanted to see what people thought of the controversy regarding religious orders in schools.

Some other countries have their own examples, but the case in Ireland is that most, if not all, public primary schools are Roman Catholic. Recently, some "Educate Together" schools have been established, which are comprehensive, but they are few and far between. They didn't exist when I went to primary school, so I went to a Catholic school. I currently attend a Catholic secondary school, which is also in the public school system, but that's more to do with academic standards than religion.

That wasn't a problem for me, as I come from a Catholic background, though I don't consider myself religious anymore, but the year I left the school (also the year I was confirmed), half of the people in my class weren't Catholic.

The question I'm asking here is, do you think schools should still be allowed, in this day and age, to identify as being a certain religion? Personally, I don't think it's right for schools in the public system to do so, especially when, depending on what catchment area they're in, students may have to go to a certain school, no matter what their religion. However, if parents want their children to be educated in a Roman Catholic school, they should be able to send them to one if they so wish. Any opinions?