Religious freedom as a function of power relations: Dubious claims on pluralism in the denominational schools debate

The decline of religious observance in Irish society has coincided with the strengthening of the exclusionary prerogatives of state-funded denominational schools. The implementation of a 'Catholics first' policy in many schools, as underpinned by legislation, suggests that increasing religious diversity in the State has led to an abandonment of the historical acceptance that schools in receipt of public funding would not exclude non-coreligionists. It therefore casts doubt on the viability of individual religious freedom within the long-standing framework of the denominational education model. This stance, as well as the reaffirmed commitment of the Catholic Church to the unimpeded inculcation of religious doctrines in its schools, has been defended with reference to dubious normative invocations of pluralism and religious freedom. This article argues that the conception of pluralism invoked by those defending the denominational education model in its current form fails to command normative legitimacy due to its non-universal, particularist and essentially communitarian scope. It also suggests that this conception is nonetheless broadly resonant with the Constitution, which, it is argued, itself configures religious freedom principles as a function of the power relations between religious groups.