Students should be allowed to opt out of religion classes without feeling excluded.
That's one conclusion of a report on Irish school patronage drawn up by the Department of Education.
It's suggested that rather than banning crucifixes from classrooms - symbols from other religions could be displayed as well.
Richard Chambers reports;
Over 4-hundred submissions were made to the Department of Education's progress report - which notes that divesting schools from Catholic patronage has not been as "rapid" as originally envisaged.
The Forum on Patronage and Plurality suggests that schools give clearer policies allowing children of no-faith background to choose not to take part in religion classes without feeling excluded.
It says it's opposed to a ban on crucifixes in classrooms - but suggests that artefacts from world religions could be placed alongside them to celebrate diversity.
The Department advises that the report is not designed to be prescriptive - but rather inform schools of emerging best practices on boosting inclusivity.
