A chara, – I take exception to the census question that asks, “What is your ethnic or cultural background?” Among the sections people can select are “White” and “Black” or “Black Irish”. Surely the colour-coding of people is an outdated and unscientific way of classifying people. Indeed, it is worse, to the extent it can reinforce racist views of human beings. It is as absurd as forming categories of people on the basis of eye or hair colour. – Is mise,
Dr DERMOT QUISH,
Drumcondra,
Dublin 9.
A chara, – In taking Róisín Ingle to task for exhorting others to tick "No religion", it seems to me that Mary Costelloe (April 26th) has completely missed the point. My reading of Róisín's column ("On filling up my census", Magazine, April 23rd) suggests that it is aimed at those who, for any number of reasons, are not practising Catholics, a category that clearly does not include Ms Costelloe. That large numbers of people need such exhorting is not in doubt given the disparity between the 84.2 per cent of the population who claimed to be Roman Catholic in 2011 and current attendance (figures admittedly anecdotal) at weekly Mass. – Is mise,
GREG SCANLON,
Shannon,
Co Clare.