New study finds Catholic pupils and teachers being subjected to bullying

 

Practising Catholic students and staff members are sometimes targeted for bullying in Irish schools, according to a major new report. Teachers see evidence of pressure on students to hide their religion.

A survey of 214 Religious Education teachers, conducted by the National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre in Dublin City University, found that students of faith, particularly Catholic, are a vulnerable group. “Holding a religious worldview can be a lonely experience in modern Ireland”, said one of the respondents.

According to the “Religious Inclusive Education” report, authored by Dr. Amalee Meehan and Derek A. Laffan MSc, students who are open about their faith can experience hostility from other students and even from staff.

“Expressing religious based convictions can lead to low level bullying by staff members … e.g. expressing anti-abortion views”, noted one of the participants.

The report refers to secondary school students. Those who identify as Catholic are the group most likely to be associated to negative stereotypes, while those who identify as atheist are at the opposite end of the spectrum.

Respondents voiced concern about anti-religious views such as ‘the lazy way that Muslims can be categorised as terrorists, and Catholics as paedophiles or supportive of such behaviour’. (p. 22)

According to the study, these findings are consistent with international research showing that in societies which experience a rapid change from high religious practice to wide secularisation, those who continue to practise are more vulnerable to bullying. This is happening in Ireland now.

“It is socially acceptable in Ireland to insult and belittle Catholics and Catholicism”, noted one of the teachers. It is seen as archaic to hold Catholic values, said another.

Religiously committed students feel vulnerable as they are a minority in Irish schools now. A different study mentioned in the report claims that when religious students are forced to conceal or deny their identity, both their personal and the school’s well-being are compromised. “This has particular implications for Irish schools, where it seems that some young people are religious at some level, but may not want to appear so”, noted the authors of the report. (p. 25)

Even religious education teachers experienced hostility. “They spoke of ‘having to apologise for being Catholic’ and ‘having to justify a Catholic ethos.’“ (p. 23)

The teachers complained about how faith schools are inaccurately portrayed in the Irish media and depicted in Irish society, noting that a secular agenda can often be promoted, instead of a fully inclusive one which respect all faiths.

The study was mentioned in June at the Oireacthas Committee on Education by Prof. James O’Higgins Norman, the head of the anti-bullying unit at DCU who spoke about bullying in school and the impact on mental health.

The report acknowledges the importance of religious education in preparing young people to live in a global society. “Further attention needs to be given to creating inclusive classrooms in which the beliefs and sensibilities of every child is respected.”, it says.

Obviously, this cannot be achieved without recognising the problem that this study raises, i.e. practicing Catholics are being bullied because of their faith.

It would also be good to know what is happening in other education settings. We saw what happened to Katie Ascough when she was elected head of the Students’ Union at UCD in 2017. She was subjected to appalling vitriol because of her Catholic and pro-life beliefs.

When society in general is becoming more hostile to religious believers, and especially the Catholic faith, the findings of this valuable new study shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.

Catholic pupils now being bullied in schools

 

Children who are practising Catholics are being targeted for bullying in school, according to the director of Dublin City University’s Anti-Bullying Centre. They are now a minority to be protected.

Professor James O’Higgins Norman was speaking last week at the Oireachtas Committee on Education, about the topic of school bullying and the impact on mental health.

Addressing the issue of Catholic children being bullied in mainly Catholic schools, he said: “We are in a particular place in our society now, we have become pluralist, things have changed, and it is no surprise that people who practise religion, and maybe practise the Catholic religion, are increasingly in the minority, especially young children and teenagers in school. So, one of the studies we have done recently has shown a concern among religion teachers about what they are observing among students who are practicing Catholics and are being targeted for that, more than a concern about kids who are not practicing a religion.” 

Professor O’Higgins Norman was referring to a study, to be published at the end of the summer, and authored by two members of the DCU’s Anty-Bullying Centre: Amalee Meehan and Derek Laffan.

The research, entitled “Inclusive Religious Education: The Voices of Religious Education Teachers in Post-Primary Schools in Ireland: Identity, bullying, and inclusion”, focuses on students aged from 11 to 16 and found that religion teachers have concerns about those who practice religion, as they would be targeted for bullying more than those who do not practice.

“15 or 20 years ago we were talking about homophobic bullying and that was a focus of bullying in school, it was a concern for anyone, and now today here we are talking about the possibility that children who practice a religion might be the ones who have been targeted for bullying”, Professor O’Higgins Norman told the Oireachtas Committee.

He explained that the outcome of the study agrees with similar research conducted internationally. This research suggests that when a particular worldview loses its dominant position, those who are still following that worldview would be seen as old-fashioned, as out of the mainstream culture and they would targeted more by others. This is happening in Ireland with regard to the Catholic religion, according to Prof. O’Higgins Norman. Those who are still practising, a minority, stand out and are bullied for being different.

During the hearing, Senator Ronan Mullen asked Prof. O’Higgins Norman whether a hegemonic media culture hostile to religion could be part of the problem.

Prof. O’Higgins Norman agreed with this suggestion. He said: “The predominant peer culture among children and adolescents in schools is influenced by their family, their parents, wider media so on, and in our current context, those who are going against the grain or standing out, they will of course then be more likely to be targets for bullying, so well if that’s for religious reasons or for other reasons.”

DCU’s Anti-Bullying Centre recommended raising awareness “of the vulnerability of students based on identity, for example Catholics, LGBTQ+, Ethnicity, etc.” This is surely the first time that practising Catholics are considered a minority to be protected. A sign of how much the mainstream culture has changed in Ireland, and not for the better.