Religion, education and the law in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Northern Ireland’s recent history is characterised by years of violent conflict and by the deep religious divisions between its Protestant and Catholic population. The publicly-funded school system reflects these wider societal divisions; over 95% of children are educated in schools which are attended by mainly Protestant or mainly Catholic pupils. The Protestant and Catholic churches are also highly influential in the system, having guaranteed positions on most school boards. These factors have inevitably had an impact on the legal regulation of issues in relation to religion and schools. For instance, the main churches are entitled by law to draw up the core syllabus for religion that is used in all schools in Northern Ireland. Moreover, Northern Ireland has a unique exception to the European Union’s Framework Directive on Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation in relation to the appointment of teachers. Further legal reforms are on the agenda. In 1998, the Belfast Agreement, a political accommodation designed to bring an end to the years of conflict and to restore a power-sharing government to Northern Ireland, was signed by the main political parties. This has resulted in a number of innovative legal provisions in the area of human rights and equality that have the potential to have a major impact on the law of education. Most notable of these is a proposal for a new Bill of Rights, which is intended to supplement existing rights in the European Convention on Human Rights.