Separate Church and State Now! Public Meetings with Sanal Edamaruku

Why should a respected Indian author be facing jail for exposing a crying Catholic statue as being caused by faulty plumbing? This week you can hear from the victim of this unjust law, as Sanal Edamaruku visits Ireland for a speaking tour.

Atheist Ireland is hosting four public meetings, in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast, to promote separation of church and state in Ireland and internationally.

• 3.30 Saturday 24 November, Wynns Hotel Dublin
• 3 pm Sunday 25 November, Metropole Hotel Cork
• 7 pm Monday 26 November, Cairnes Theatre NUI Galway
• 7 pm Tuesday 27 November, Malone Lodge Hotel Belfast

We will also be holding a briefing session for TDs and Senators in Leinster House.

Indian author Sanal Edamaruku is facing blasphemy charges in India, instigated by the Catholic Church, for exposing a crying Catholic statue as being caused by faulty plumbing and capillary action.

Sanal is President of the Indian Rationalist Association and Rationalist International, and he has written 25 books. A tantrik guru once tried and failed to kill Sanal, using only magic, on a live television show, after Sanal challenged his supposed powers.

Michael Nugent and Jane Donnelly of Atheist Ireland will speak on the need for a secular constitution, laws, government, courts, education system and healthcare system, both in Ireland and internationally.

In Ireland an atheist cannot be President or a judge, the Catholic church runs 90% of our primary schools, hospitals make life and death healthcare decisions based on religious ethics, churches are formally exempted from complying with tax and equality laws, and we have recently passed an internationally controversial blasphemy law.

At the United Nations, Islamic states have cited Ireland’s blasphemy law to support their own blasphemy laws. Victims include Christians like Asia Bibi in Pakistan, Muslims like Hamza Kashgari in Saudi Arabia, and atheists like Alexander Aan in Indonesia. Victims have been attacked, jailed and sentenced to execution.

Ireland must act now to separate church and state. At home, we must provide an ethical, secular country based on democracy, human rights, freedom of belief and conscience, and civil liberty. And internationally, we must promote the same values, backed up by acting consistently in our own country.

Please attend these meetings, and let your voice be heard. Please also publicize the meetings as widely as you can.

Share the Facebook Event pages for the meetings

• 3.30 Saturday 24 November, Wynns Hotel Dublin
• 3 pm Sunday 25 November, Metropole Hotel Cork
• 7 pm Monday 26 November, Cairnes Theatre NUI Galway
• 7 pm Tuesday 27 November, Malone Lodge Hotel Belfast

Download and print a pdf poster for the meetings

• A4 poster with details of all four meetings
• A3 poster with details of all four meetings

Please also email any friends who have secular political views, and bring some friends along to the meeting nearest you.