A survey has found that 84% of people believe that Irish education should be reformed to prevent the exclusion of a child due to their religion or lack of a religion.
The Behaviour and Attitudes survey was carried out on behalf of a new organisation - Equate - set up to campaign for change in the Irish school system.
One thousand adults from different parts of the country took part in the survey and were chosen to reflect wider Irish demographics.
Participants were asked about school ethos, and what type of school they would like to send their children to if it was available locally.
Presented with a list of different school types, 54% chose a Christian school, 9% picked non-denominational schools as their preferred option, 25% picked multi-denominational schools, 2% chose 'Other' and 11% did not know.
77% agreed that schools should not have the right to refuse admission to a child who has a different religion to the school's patron.
One in five of those surveyed said they knew of someone who had baptised their child to help ensure access to a local school.
The vast majority of the country's primary schools are religious-run - mostly by the Catholic church.
When it comes to admissions they have the right to favour children of their own religion over others. Equate said the survey shows a yearning for change.
Equate has welcomed Minister for Education Jan O'Sullivan's decision to abolish Rule 68.
It also called for a protocol to be developed to govern religious-run schools in rural areas, so that no child is excluded.
At present there are large parts of the country where parents have no choice but to send their child to a Catholic school.
Equate is also calling for the amendment of equality legislation so that schools cannot discriminate against children in any circumstances.
It says religious instruction should be moved to the end or the start of the school day, to enable families to "opt-in" to faith formation, rather than forcing families to "opt-out".
