If you are not familiar with an organisation called “Christian Voice Ireland”, then you can hardly be blamed. Ireland has not traditionally been a hotspot of evangelical christianity, at least on this side of the border, so prominent evangelical groups are few and far between. That is changing, though, at least in part as a result of immigration.
There’s irony in that: If you want to find Ireland’s most diverse and multicultural communities, you could do worse than look at the evangelical churches that have been springing up in recent years. The Church at the centre of this week’s “scandal” – more of which in a second – is lead by Pastor John Aherne and his wife Joanna. Their congregation has many “native” Irish people, but it is also filled every week by a large contingent of people born in Africa, South America, and the far east. These people, from different backgrounds and cultures, have nevertheless formed a shared Christian community in Ireland. It’s the kind of thing you’d think would be welcomed.
And it probably was welcomed, until the uppity congregation stopped simply posing for feel-good photos, and started having opinions.
People in that congregation, apparently, have concerns about the new sex education curriculums being rolled out in Irish schools. This week, they held the second of two public information evenings on those curriculums, at which parents were advised to exercise their constitutional right to be involved in their child’s education, and to participate in the democratic process by making their feelings known. Some speakers, from the podium, even articulated a traditionally Christian view of sexual ethics.
And that, dear reader, is deeply concerning, at least as far as Minister Catherine Martin is concerned:
The IABA, which owns the purpose-built arena on the South Circular Road in Dublin, said it would investigate use of the stadium for the event, which it said did not reflect its views.
Commenting today, Martin – whose department holds the sports brief – welcomed the fact that the association had committed to more closely monitoring how the stadium was used.
“They weren’t aware of the exact use of it and I’m glad that they have said that they’d keep a much closer eye on their leasing arrangements,” she said in response to questions from The Journal.
“I think that is welcome.”
It comes after questions were raised by People Before Profit TD Mick Barry about the use of the stadium by Christian Voice Ireland and whether it conflicted with the IABA’s policy on inclusion.
The policy states that it welcomes “all members of all communities” regardless of their “gender identity or sexual orientation”.
According to its website, Christian Voice Ireland rejects same-sex marriage and the existence of transgender people.
It should not be a particular surprise to anybody that a Christian Church, based on the bible, should have a view on same-sex marriage and other issues of sexual morality which are at odds with the majority view of the Irish political class and the media. Indeed, the church has not simply been using the stadium for political meetings – it has also been using it for its weekly religious services. In part, it should be noted, because the boxing stadium is large enough to accommodate the demand for attendance, which is a rare problem these days for churches in Ireland.
Minister Martin, prompted by our doctrinaire liberal friends at the Journal.ie, appears to be concerned that the views of this church – and by logical extension therefore the views of any orthodox christian believer – are at odds with something called the “inclusion policy” of the National Boxing Stadium.
Which of course, those views are not.
If you look at the inclusion policy – helpfully quoted by the Journal above – it simply commits the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) to “welcoming members of all communities regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation”. That would, naturally, extend to Christians.
However, Minister Martin appears to be saying that welcoming a group with one set of beliefs is to de-facto exclude any group with another, entirely opposed set of beliefs. It is the equivalent of saying, in effect, that two opposing football clubs could not hold events in the same venue on different nights because the presence of one would exclude the other. This is bizarre.
It is doubtful, however, that the Minister has thought that deeply about it. Her remarks should be interpreted simply, and straightforwardly, in the manner in which she intended: Christian beliefs bad, ergo, Christians not welcome. That’s where she – and, in her defence, a big chunk of Irish society – is at.
Note too that none of the objections are based on anything that Christian Voice Ireland actually said at their meeting: The Journal article about the event includes only one quote from the event itself, attributed to Senator Sharon Keogan. You can judge for yourself how discriminatory or exclusive it is:
““Children will be asked to make presentations and describe how they can be supported to trans identify as individuals, and how to give advice for how people can support those who are treated unfairly because of the way they express their gender,” she said in a video of the event posted online.
“In none of this content is it mentioned at all that this radical teaching is less than 30 years old, that the foundational ideology of it is a shockingly recent modern invention, the long-term impact of which can only be guessed at.”
Is there anything exclusive or discriminatory in those remarks? If so, let me know, because I cannot find it.
Instead, the Minister’s objections are not based at all on the things said at the event, but on the religious beliefs of those who attended. That is a gravely disturbing precedent, and were they made about any other group, would likely be a resigning matter.
For example, for several years now, the Muslim Council of Ireland has been holding a large religious event for the Muslim feast of Eid in Croke Park. They are using a sporting venue, which comes under the remit of the Minister. They have, in my view, every right to hold it. At that event, in accordance with Islamic teaching, men and women are segregated, and pray separately.
And yet it would be a long time before Catherine Martin, or any Minister, compared the religious beliefs of Muslims to the GAA’s “inclusion policy”, or wondered aloud whether they should be permitted to hold it.
She’s a disgrace.