I dunno, Jim. I suppose it's different in Ireland. Seems to me, though, that if parents don't want to send kids to church-owned schools, the option is to establish a school not owned by the church.

I wanted to send my kids to church-owned schools, so I paid for it - in addition to the taxes I paid for state-owned schools.

And I sent my kids to church-owned schools because I thought they would get a better education there, and that they would not have to attend classes that were watered down to appease the very vocal conservatives in our area. As far as I can tell, my children had no "facts" driven into their heads, but I suppose that's all in the eye of the beholder. There were many people who claimed my children's schools were "socialist" and "anti-American" because they taught about the effects of poverty in our area, that they were "brainwashing" our children to be anti-capitalist.

In my area, "powerful bodies such as churches" are the primary voice on behalf of the homeless and the immigrants.

Like I said, Jim, it's the rigid universality of your condemnation that I disagree with. I suspect you have tunnel vision. I've heard from reliable sources that even in Ireland, there are many good, intelligent people who participate in or lead religious activities. I've even met some there myself. I met some of the other kind there, too - I didn't like them.

-Joe-