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2 articles
2nd is 'The campaign to seperate Church and state'
- *********** Thinking about Anarchism **********
Religion
from WS 45 (1995)
The popular stereotype of anarchists' relationship
to religion is that we are all priest-killers and
church-burners. This is, as is usually the case
with mainstream representations of anarchism,
almost completely false. It is useful in the wake
of the clerical paedophile scandals and the general
stranglehold that the church exerts on Irish
society to give a truer explanation of our
position.
Anarchists are materialists. We understand that
there is a real and concrete basis for the way
society is organised right now. Religion generally
sees society as god given and inevitable. Almost
all world religions claim that the poor will be
rewarded in the afterlife for passively accepting
their lot in this one.
Religion is by its nature authoritarian, whether to
a greater of lesser extent. It is based on 'faith'
and obedience. The reality we face is of churches
that are involved in the repression of women, of
gay people and all of those who seek to change the
face of the traditional (nuclear) family. It is no
coincidence that fundamentalists of all religions,
from Ireland to Iran, seek to push back the
progress made by women in the workplace and the
sexual revolution.
Church power in Ireland
As anarchists we oppose this authoritarianism. We
are fighting to break the power of the church in
Ireland. This power is immense. As well as it's
direct wealth, they control over 3,000 out of the
3,500 primary schools in the 26 counties, despite
the fact that all the staff wages and 90% of
building costs are paid by the State. They also
control 67% of secondary schools and own Maynooth
College. They have a majority on the boards of
about half the hospitals. This allows them to veto
even legal operations such as sterilisations.
However it is not enough just to oppose the
churches' power. As Anarchists we must offer a
real practical alternative analysis of society.
The stronghold that the church has is not simply a
result of historical circumstances, it offers
something that people want. It offers an
explanation of all sorts of natural and personal
disasters, by saying that they are "the will of
god". It offers hope in a world where misery,
poverty, ignorance, frustration and alienation are
endemic.
To break this stranglehold we need a strategy that
unites our vision of a better world in the here and
now with struggles that bring people into conflict
with clerical power and show up religion as a prop
for the status quo, that stands in the way of their
needs and desires. In Ireland this means fighting
against clerical control of schools, hospitals,
etc. It also means fighting for separation of
church and state.
Church and State
The question that often arises is "surely as
Anarchists you are against the state as well?" The
simple answer is that we are but we are also for
fighting for improvements to people's lives in the
here and now. Breaking the stranglehold of the
church would ease the way for divorce, reproductive
rights including abortion, along with stopping
church control of schools.
For us religion is a private matter. It should
enjoy no special privileges, tax reliefs etc. We
expect members to be involved in the struggle
against the power and control exercised by the
churches. Nonetheless members can hold religious
beliefs provided they fully accept this aspect.
In short we fight religion by fighting its root
causes. The Workers Solidarity Movement is
fighting for an anarchist society where people will
come to realise that they have no need for religion
or other mystical ideas. We challenge religion in
a practical way by showing where it obstructs
social progress and by leading the challenge to it
at every opportunity.
Louise Tierney
from Workers Solidarity No 32
paper of the Irish anarchist
Workers Solidarity Movement
Church and State
THE CAMPAIGN to Separate Church and State have
been busy. They've being taking a court case against
the govern-ment for employing Chaplains in Vocational
schools. The 26 county Constitution prohibits the state
from "endowing" reli-gion. Though we wouldn't place
much faith in the courts or De Valera's Constitution
our-selves we got to admit that they've got a point,
paying for these 30 priests and ministers is costing the
taxpayer ?800,000-?1,000,000. However this is only the
tip of the iceberg!
The Catholic church in Ireland has always been massively
supported by the State and allowed a huge say in the
running of the country. This article will attempt to cover
the facts of church power in Ireland and the long history of
State support beginning hundreds of years be-fore the
establishment of the 26 county state.
RELIGIOUS BELIEF
Firstly it must be made clear that we see religion as a
personal matter. Everyone should be free to worship as
they want and hold whatever beliefs they want. We
condemn totally any attacks on an individual's re-ligious
freedom.
Equally we are opposed to any-one telling us how to run our
lives, including religious leaders. This article will hopefully
show how organised religion works with State and bosses to
oppress all whatever their per-sonal religious beliefs.
Within the Irish 26 counties we are referring of course to
the Catholic church ...and now a brief his-tory lesson.
A BIT OF HISTORY
In 1951 Noel Browne, Minister for Health in the "inter-
party" coalition government, intro-duced his "Mother and
Child Scheme". This was a proposal for free gynaecological
care for pregnant women and a compre-hensive health
programme for children up to 16.
Following their Autumn meet-ing in Maynooth the Catholic
bishops sent a letter to the gov-ernment.
"The powers taken by the State in the proposed
Mother and Child health service are in direct
opposition to the rights of the family and of the
individual and are liable to very great abuse. Their
character is such that no assurance that they would be
used in moderation could justify their enactment. If
adopted they would constitute a ready-made instrument
for totalitarian aggression"(!)
Such was the power of the bishops (helped by other
conserva-tives and with the strong support of many wealthy
doctors fear-ing for their practices) that this tripe was
sufficient to send Labour and Clann na Poblachta tripping
over each other to catch up with Fine Gael in the "No"
lobby. Noel Browne was forced to resign.
THE CHURCH AS CAPITALISTS
The church's fear of "totalitarian aggression" (i.e.
communism) is of little surprise when you consider it's
material base in society. Recently (1987) the church's total
assets in Dublin alone amounted to ?100 million, with an
estimated income of ?7.5 million per year.
According to the Irish Independent (31/01/83) it owned 234
churches, 713 schools, 473 houses and 100 community
centres in Dublin. In 1979 in the midst of appalling poverty
they spent ?2.5 million on the pope's visit.
Needless to say the ordinary members of this company (i.e.
the vast majority of Irish people) have no shares, and voting
rights lie in the hands of a non-elected board of
management: the Bishops.
As well as it's direct wealth, it has a massive amount of
control in State institutions. They control 3,300 out of the
country's 3,500 primary schools despite the fact that all the
staff wages and 90% of building costs are paid by the State.
They also control 67% of secondary schools and own
Maynooth College. They have a majority on the boards of
most orphanages, 'reform schools' and hospitals. This allows
them to veto even legal operations such as sterilisations in
most hospitals.
KEEPING IN WITH THE
IN-CROWD
The Catholic church has always known which side it's bread
was buttered on. It worked hand in glove with British
imperial-ism (while engaging in a little nationalist posturing
to main-tain it's credibility with the masses) and after 1921
worked to prop up the weak Irish ruling class. They opposed
the first stirring of radical democracy and egalitarian
republicanism of the United Irishmen at the end of the
Eighteenth century.
In 1795 the English authorities began to recognise their
useful-ness and helped build Maynooth seminary to replace
the one in Paris destroyed by "Godless French
revolutionaries". The cornerstone laid by the Lord
Lieutenant in 1795 was the rock on which the clerical elite
was to build it's power over the next 200 years.
In 1799 the bishops met at Maynooth to vote their support
for the Act of Union. In 1845 Robert Peel (the English
Prime Minister) trebled the annual grant for Maynooth and
gave them a large sum to expand the college. During the
famine Bishops hardly commented on the mass starvation
gripping the country while grain exports to England
continued to grow.
KITTY O'SHEA
They opposed the Fenians and even constitutional
nationalists like Parnell, whom they hounded out of politics
after his affair with Kitty O'Shea. The Catholic hierarchy
was in the front-line in condemning the locked-out workers
in 1913. Priests and lay Catholic activists physically
prevented children of the strik-ers being sent on holiday to
trade union families in "Godless" England during the
dispute.
The 1916 proclamation repre-sented the views of the more
radical wing of the Irish bourgeoisie & intellectuals and had
a vague aspiration to "cherish all the children of the nation
equally". After 1921 the Free State government and the
weak Irish ruling class fell back into the arms of the church.
The bishops con-demned the anti-treaty side in the civil war,
recognised the "legitimate government" and attacked
republicans for "causing criminal damage".
After the war both pro- (Cumann na Gael/Fine Gael) and
anti- (Fianna F?il) treaty sides were in the palm of it's hand.
In 1923 the Censorship of Films Act was passed, 1924 saw
the Intoxicating Liquor Act, in 1925 divorce was out-lawed
and in 1929 the Censorship of Publications Board was
established.
In 1937 De Valera's Constitution was passed with the
bishops being consulted on every syllable. Among its
articles was:
"The State recognises the special position of the
Holy Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church as the
guardian of the faith professed by the majority of
citizens". (This was not repealed until 1972).
Fine Gael did not allow them-selves to be outdone in abject
grovelling. In 1947 Costelloe, head of the new coalition
gov-ernment, wrote to the pope:
"on the occasion of our assumption of
office......my colleagues and myself desire to repose at
the feet of your holiness the assurance of our filial
loyalty and our devotion to your August person".
A NEW IRELAND?
The 1960s and 70s saw an upturn in the Irish economy with
international investment. This led to an increase in the
number of women working out-side the home, and combined
with the emergence of the Irish womens' movement, led to
a slight weakening of the church's position. In 1979 Fianna
F?il actually went against the hierarchy to bring in limited
availability of condoms.
But the 1980s saw a series of defeats for liberal reforms. In
1980 Noel Browne, once again, got the thin end of the stick
when not one T.D. would support his divorce bill. In 1983
the Constitution was amended to "uphold the right to life of
the unborn". In 1985 a "Lenten Pastoral" forbade Catholic
hospitals carrying out sterilisa-tions. In 1986 an amendment
to the Constitution allowing divorce in very limited circum-
stances was defeated.
However there are some definite signs of a weakening of the
ideological power of the church in Ireland. There has been
a decrease in both church atten-dance and "vocations to the
priesthood" since the 1970s. For example there has been a
9% drop in Mass attendance between 1974 and 1989,
attendance at confession has declined from 47% to 18%
(according to a re-cent survey by Rev. Michael Mac Grail -
Irish Times 2/3/1991). The recent election of a "liberal"
woman President (Mary Robinson) and the Fianna F?il
attempt to widen the availability of condoms would also
seem to confirm this.
IS THERE A WAY OUT?
Though we must acknowledge that liberals such as the
Campaign to Separate Church and State have the right
idea, we don't think that their methods will work. We stand
for the complete separation of Church and State. Yes, I
know some-body will point out that we oppose the State as
well. This is a tactical question, just as our opposition to
the wages system doesn't stop us looking for higher wages.
In the short-term we have to fight against clerical control of
hospitals, schools, community centres and youth clubs. We
also fight against the laws which place restrictions on
peoples' personal lives. The WSM is in favour of
campaigning for the best possible secular laws in the areas
of divorce, contracep-tion, abortion, sterilisation, adoption
and gay & lesbian rights.
We fully realise that there are limits to what can be
achieved under the present system, but that should stop
nobody seeking to win those limited goals that are
immediately possible.
A victory in any one of these struggles exposes the wide
powers of the church and shows whose side it is on. It
creates the possibility of involving more people in future
struggles. The long-term alternative we offer of a new free,
self-managed world where people control their own lives
will be one in which the mystical and authoritarian ideas of
most religions will probably attract little support.
Des McCarron
THE CAMPAIGN to Separate Church and State
have been busy. They've being taking a court case
against the govern-ment for employing Chaplains
in Vocational schools. The 26 county Constitution
prohibits the state from "endowing" reli-gion.
Though we wouldn't place much faith in the courts
or De Valera's Constitution our-selves we got to
admit that they've got a point, paying for these 30
priests and ministers is costing the taxpayer
?800,000-?1,000,000. However this is only the tip of
the iceberg!
The Catholic church in Ireland has always been
massively supported by the State and allowed a huge
say in the running of the country. This article will
attempt to cover the facts of church power in Ireland and
the long history of State support beginning hundreds of
years be-fore the establishment of the 26 county state.
RELIGIOUS BELIEF
Firstly it must be made clear that we see religion as a
personal matter. Everyone should be free to worship as
they want and hold whatever beliefs they want. We
condemn totally any attacks on an individual's re-ligious
freedom.
Equally we are opposed to any-one telling us how to run
our lives, including religious leaders. This article will
hopefully show how organised religion works with State
and bosses to oppress all whatever their per-sonal
religious beliefs. Within the Irish 26 counties we are
referring of course to the Catholic church ...and now a
brief his-tory lesson.
A BIT OF HISTORY
In 1951 Noel Browne, Minister for Health in the "inter-
party" coalition government, intro-duced his "Mother and
Child Scheme". This was a proposal for free
gynaecological care for pregnant women and a compre-
hensive health programme for children up to 16.
Following their Autumn meet-ing in Maynooth the
Catholic bishops sent a letter to the gov-ernment.
"The powers taken by the State in the
proposed Mother and Child health service are in
direct opposition to the rights of the family and of
the individual and are liable to very great abuse.
Their character is such that no assurance that
they would be used in moderation could justify
their enactment. If adopted they would constitute a
ready-made instrument for totalitarian
aggression"(!)
Such was the power of the bishops (helped by other
conserva-tives and with the strong support of many
wealthy doctors fear-ing for their practices) that this tripe
was sufficient to send Labour and Clann na Poblachta
tripping over each other to catch up with Fine Gael in the
"No" lobby. Noel Browne was forced to resign.
THE CHURCH AS CAPITALISTS
The church's fear of "totalitarian aggression" (i.e.
communism) is of little surprise when you consider it's
material base in society. Recently (1987) the church's
total assets in Dublin alone amounted to ?100 million,
with an estimated income of ?7.5 million per year.
According to the Irish Independent (31/01/83) it owned
234 churches, 713 schools, 473 houses and 100
community centres in Dublin. In 1979 in the midst of
appalling poverty they spent ?2.5 million on the pope's
visit.
Needless to say the ordinary members of this company
(i.e. the vast majority of Irish people) have no shares,
and voting rights lie in the hands of a non-elected board
of management: the Bishops.
As well as it's direct wealth, it has a massive amount of
control in State institutions. They control 3,300 out of
the country's 3,500 primary schools despite the fact that
all the staff wages and 90% of building costs are paid by
the State. They also control 67% of secondary schools
and own Maynooth College. They have a majority on the
boards of most orphanages, 'reform schools' and
hospitals. This allows them to veto even legal
operations such as sterilisations in most hospitals.
KEEPING IN WITH THE
IN-CROWD
The Catholic church has always known which side it's
bread was buttered on. It worked hand in glove with
British imperial-ism (while engaging in a little nationalist
posturing to main-tain it's credibility with the masses)
and after 1921 worked to prop up the weak Irish ruling
class. They opposed the first stirring of radical
democracy and egalitarian republicanism of the United
Irishmen at the end of the Eighteenth century.
In 1795 the English authorities began to recognise their
useful-ness and helped build Maynooth seminary to
replace the one in Paris destroyed by "Godless French
revolutionaries". The cornerstone laid by the Lord
Lieutenant in 1795 was the rock on which the clerical
elite was to build it's power over the next 200 years.
In 1799 the bishops met at Maynooth to vote their
support for the Act of Union. In 1845 Robert Peel (the
English Prime Minister) trebled the annual grant for
Maynooth and gave them a large sum to expand the
college. During the famine Bishops hardly commented on
the mass starvation gripping the country while grain
exports to England continued to grow.
KITTY O'SHEA
They opposed the Fenians and even constitutional
nationalists like Parnell, whom they hounded out of
politics after his affair with Kitty O'Shea. The Catholic
hierarchy was in the front-line in condemning the locked-
out workers in 1913. Priests and lay Catholic activists
physically prevented children of the strik-ers being sent
on holiday to trade union families in "Godless" England
during the dispute.
The 1916 proclamation repre-sented the views of the
more radical wing of the Irish bourgeoisie & intellectuals
and had a vague aspiration to "cherish all the children of
the nation equally". After 1921 the Free State
government and the weak Irish ruling class fell back into
the arms of the church. The bishops con-demned the
anti-treaty side in the civil war, recognised the
"legitimate government" and attacked republicans for
"causing criminal damage".
After the war both pro- (Cumann na Gael/Fine Gael) and
anti- (Fianna F?il) treaty sides were in the palm of it's
hand. In 1923 the Censorship of Films Act was passed,
1924 saw the Intoxicating Liquor Act, in 1925 divorce
was out-lawed and in 1929 the Censorship of
Publications Board was established.
In 1937 De Valera's Constitution was passed with the
bishops being consulted on every syllable. Among its
articles was:
"The State recognises the special position of
the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Roman Church as
the guardian of the faith professed by the majority
of citizens". (This was not repealed until 1972).
Fine Gael did not allow them-selves to be outdone in
abject grovelling. In 1947 Costelloe, head of the new
coalition gov-ernment, wrote to the pope:
"on the occasion of our assumption of
office......my colleagues and myself desire to repose
at the feet of your holiness the assurance of our
filial loyalty and our devotion to your August
person".
A NEW IRELAND?
The 1960s and 70s saw an upturn in the Irish economy
with international investment. This led to an increase in
the number of women working out-side the home, and
combined with the emergence of the Irish womens'
movement, led to a slight weakening of the church's
position. In 1979 Fianna F?il actually went against the
hierarchy to bring in limited availability of condoms.
But the 1980s saw a series of defeats for liberal reforms.
In 1980 Noel Browne, once again, got the thin end of the
stick when not one T.D. would support his divorce bill.
In 1983 the Constitution was amended to "uphold the
right to life of the unborn". In 1985 a "Lenten Pastoral"
forbade Catholic hospitals carrying out sterilisa-tions. In
1986 an amendment to the Constitution allowing divorce
in very limited circum-stances was defeated.
However there are some definite signs of a weakening of
the ideological power of the church in Ireland. There has
been a decrease in both church atten-dance and
"vocations to the priesthood" since the 1970s. For
example there has been a 9% drop in Mass attendance
between 1974 and 1989, attendance at confession has
declined from 47% to 18% (according to a re-cent survey
by Rev. Michael Mac Grail - Irish Times 2/3/1991). The
recent election of a "liberal" woman President (Mary
Robinson) and the Fianna F?il attempt to widen the
availability of condoms would also seem to confirm this.
IS THERE A WAY OUT?
Though we must acknowledge that liberals such as the
Campaign to Separate Church and State have the right
idea, we don't think that their methods will work. We
stand for the complete separation of Church and State.
Yes, I know some-body will point out that we oppose the
State as well. This is a tactical question, just as our
opposition to the wages system doesn't stop us looking
for higher wages.
In the short-term we have to fight against clerical control
of hospitals, schools, community centres and youth clubs.
We also fight against the laws which place restrictions
on peoples' personal lives. The WSM is in favour of
campaigning for the best possible secular laws in the
areas of divorce, contracep-tion, abortion, sterilisation,
adoption and gay & lesbian rights.
We fully realise that there are limits to what can be
achieved under the present system, but that should stop
nobody seeking to win those limited goals that are
immediately possible.
A victory in any one of these struggles exposes the wide
powers of the church and shows whose side it is on. It
creates the possibility of involving more people in future
struggles. The long-term alternative we offer of a new
free, self-managed world where people control their own
lives will be one in which the mystical and authoritarian
ideas of most religions will probably attract little
support.
Des McCarron