The Irish Constitution should be amended to remove all reference to the Catholic Church
by Orsolya Kneitner
Access Course, Politics
Muireann O Dwyer
I believe Catholic references in the Irish Constitution hinders the nation as a whole and leaves room for discrimination and favoritism. In my essay I am going to support the argument that the Irish Constitution should be amended to remove all reference to the Catholic Church. I will base my argument on the fact that core Christian values are based on universal moral guidelines that can be found in major religions around the world – hence are not distinctively unique to the Catholic faith; that even after the Fifth Amendment, the special and privileged status of the Catholic church in Ireland did not cease to exist, and is still holding great power in the decision and lawmaking progress in the country; thus exercising an unfair excess of power and hindering human rights issues such as repealing the Eighth Amendment.
What are core Christian values and why do we need them?
When Christian values are mentioned, the most common ides to come to one’s mind are centered around the “Love thy neighbor” (Matthew 22:36-40) sentiment and the ten commandments.
Jesus – son of God in Christian faith – is a figure promoting love, understanding and tolerance. While believers of the Catholic faith believe Jesus to be the son of God and Virgin Mary and to have died for our sins on the cross, his principals – stripped from religious context – are solid moral guidelines by which one can lead a dignified, peaceful life.
The Evangelical Alliance broke this abstract, free-to-interpret concept to eight key points: grace, the value of giving people more than they deserve; hope, the belief in God’s presence; faith; love, and the love we have even for those unworthy of it; justice, favoring the distavantaged and putting self-interest aside; joy; service, the mindset of being selflessness and peace, both as in an absence of fighting and as in general well-being. The 10 Commandments List (Short Form), seen below, focuses equally on both abstract and societal rules.
1. You shall have no other gods before Me. 2. You shall not make idols. 3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. 4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 5. Honor your father and your mother. 6. You shall not murder. 7. You shall not commit adultery. 8. You shall not steal. 9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 10. You shall not covet. (Exodus 20:2-17)
These basic moral guidelines can be found in other religions such as Judaism (“Love your fellow as yourself” Levicitus 19:18), Islam (“Do not take a life, which God has forbidden, except in a just cause.” Koran 17:33), Hinduism (“Do not kill.” Bhagavad Gita 16:2 “Do not lie.” Bhagavad Gita 16:2) and Taoism (“In dealing with others, be gentle and kind in speech, be true in ruling, be just.” Tao Te Ching 8).
Many refer to these universal teachings and values found in religious doctrine over the world as the Golden Rule. It’s important to note, that identifying a common ground between religious beliefs is not in an attempt to eradicate or wash together ideologies but a goal to find common ground among people regardless of their faith or lack thereof. The most notable example of the Golden Rule being successfully applied and passed as law was shown by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN). In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was made, and it declared dignity, equality and freedom from tyranny, fear and torture were basic rights of each and every person without regards to their nationality, gender, race, ethnicity, age or social status.
In relation of the Irish constitution this declaration is proof that a complete separation from religion and law is not only possible but – in my opinion – is highly desirable, and that such thing does not harm the religious rights of any individual. From an outside perspective it could be easy to assume that Church and State, are for the most part, separate. The Fifth Amendment of the Constitution Act in 1972 “removed from the Constitution the special position of the Catholic Church and the recognition of other named religious denominations”.
Does this mean that the Catholic Church ceased to practice its tremendous influence over Ireland?
Gabriel Almond outlined three core principles that define political culture: the system level, the process level and the policy level.
When inspecting the influence of the Catholic Church, the understanding of its role in the system level is crucial. The system level encompasses a person’s core values, upbringing, national and religious identity. As these values are learned and internalized by the time an individual reaches adulthood, their significance in one’s decision making process must be acknowledged.
According to the 2016 census, 78.3% of the population of Ireland is Roman Catholic. This data shows a 5.9% decrease compared to the 2011 results. The numbers show us that even though there’s been a decline in people’s faith in the Roman Catholic religion, the Church is still very much a powerful institution with lots of followers.
When the overwhelming majority of a nation grows up with religion, the teachings of the Church are bound to manifest in the political culture.
Since the biggest religion is the Roman Catholic faith in Ireland, the Catholic Church has a large social capital and one generation after the other growing up practicing Catholicism. By establishing their moral, and to an extent, educational authority in individuals’ life at a quite early age, Catholics are represented at every level of lawmaking and public life.
People in all areas of academia and public service were held to the standards of not only the requirement of their respective positions but by that of the Catholic Church as well. With these expectations, and members of the public sphere being strongly discouraged, if not outright banned from forming criticism against the Church, the representation and flow on information of the institution was skewed.
The nature and function of interest groups and political lobbyism has changed since the Constitution was written, but non-political organization such as the Catholic Church remain active and, despite their spiritual purpose, engage in government negotiations about scientific issues.
The most notable and politically relevant example of that is the Eight Amendment of the Constitution, which “acknowledged the right to life of the unborn, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother”.
The Catholic faith determines that life begins at the moment of conception, as opposed to pointing out the phase during pregnancy where the fetus is deemed developed enough to be regarded as a person. Most countries set this date at the 24th week of pregnancy; before that time, the mother can decide to get an abortion without medical reasons.
This religious viewpoint affects the life and reproductive healthcare options not only of women of the Catholic faith but women regardless their religion or lack thereof.
As bodily autonomy and the right to life is unalienable, this amendment could not be seen as anything but largely and undoubtedly inhumane if it wasn’t for the religious context of it.
While Christian people should be free to believe that abortion is a sin, I am strongly convinced that this belief should not interfere with another person’s right to make decisions of their own bodies and get access to the reproductive healthcare services they need.
Polls show that the majority of Irish people are in fact in favor of repealing the Eighth Amendment. In March 2016, Amnesty International commissioned Red C poll to conduct a survey and see what the general public thinks about the issue.
87% of all asked supported wider and better access to abortion and 72% supported the altogether decriminalisation of abortion. 69% wanted to see the government handle the issue with priority and 73% believed a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment should be held.
A decisive majority answered in favor of repealing the Eighth Amendment in all question categories. Only 5% of the people asked thought abortion should be illegal under all circumstances.
A noteworthy fact is that more than half of the people asked did not know that having an abortion in Ireland without going through the strict approval process is punishable by up to 14 years of imprisonment.
Records of polls kept and published by The Irish Family Planning Association show that for years now, there has been enough public support to repeal, if not only alter, the Eighth Amendment.
For one to understand the reason behind it, I must point back to Almond’s three core principles, especially the system level. The decision makers in charge of a referendum are the same people who grew up being taught that the very choice over a woman’s own body needs to be limited, restricted and punished.
Taking out references of the Catholic Church from the Constitution is, in my opinion, essential to serving the rights and needs of a changing society. As I’ve shown, principals of morality and goodness are not uniquely Christian traits and following a common guideline that serves everyone is something that has been done successfully on a large international level in the past. By removing religion from the Constitution, the interest and rights of individuals (especially women) would be better served and protected.
Irish society changed by large and it is time for the Constitution to change with it.