Humanists say Constitution has unfair religious bias

16/12/2006 - 18:40:27
The Humanists Organisation of Ireland has called for the deletion of all religious references from the Irish Constitution.

It claimed that passages which refer to religion in the document discriminate against people who do not believe in God.

The organisation said this is just one example of how the State discriminates against people who do not have any religion.

Spokesperson Brendan Sheeran has claimed the Constitution effectively bars humanists from taking up certain roles, like counsel of state, judge or president.

Comparing the situation unfavourably to courtrooms, where witnesses have the choice to affirm rather than swear on the Bible, Mr Sheeran has said the Constitution should provide a similar option for atheists.