Atheists in Ireland have called on a teacher training college to remove notes from its curriculum that say atheism produced "the worst horrors history has ever witnessed".

The Atheist Ireland group has called on the Hibernia College to revise the religion module in its HDip in primary school education to teach students in an "objective, critical and pluralistic manner".

Students at the college who are training to become primary school teachers are given course notes during the module which say that "atheist humanism produced the worst horrors history has ever witnessed, namely Nazism, Fascism and Marxism."

Students are also expected to answer 'True' to the exam statement: "Atheist humanism produced the worst horrors history has ever witnessed".

In a letter to the college, Atheist Ireland demands the removal of the statements from the course notes and examinations, calling them "disgraceful" and "untrue".

"HiberniaCollegeshould not be teaching the disgraceful [coursework] that very few modern atheists are bothered about the causes of the worst atrocities in history, and that we feel anything is morally justified in the absence of gods," the group said. "InIreland, we have got used to Roman Catholic educational institutions discrimination against atheists and against religion people who are not Roman Catholics. It is sad that we now findHiberniaCollege, a non-religious educational institution, doing the same. The college has not yet responded.

Read Atheist Ireland's letter here