Religion in Ireland

    The predominant religion in Ireland is Christianity, with the largest church being the Roman Catholic Church. In 2011, 84.2% of the population identified themselves as Roman Catholic. The Catholic population of both the Republic and of Northern Ireland together is about 3,9 million. Most churches are organized in all-Ireland basis which includes both Northern-and Republic of Ireland. The Catholic church is involved in education and health services.

    The second largest Christian denomination, the church of Ireland or the Anglican church, declined in membership for the most of the twentieth century, but has more recently experienced an increase. In the 2011 census 269,811 people (5.9%) had no religion, with 3.905 and 3,521 people describing themselves as “atheist” and “agnostic” respectively. Those who did not state a religion numbered 72,914 (1,6%).

    The patron saints of Ireland for Catholics and Anglicans are Saint Patrick, Saint Bridget and Saint Columba. Sain Patrick is the only one of the three who is commonly recogniced as the patron Saint. Saint Patrick’s day is calebrated in Ireland and abroad on 17 March.


Religion and education

    Large number of schools in Ireland are runned by religious organisations but parents can ask for their children to be excluded from religious study if they wish so. However, religious studies as a subject was introduced into the state administered Junior Certificate in 2001; it is not compulsory and it deals with aspects of different religions not focusing on one particular religion.

    Freedom of religion for belief, practice, and organisation is guaranteed to every citizen. Ireland is in general a place where there is great tolerance and respect for diversity in religious belief, leaving the situation in Northern Ireland aside.


The Role of Religion in Modern Ireland

    “It is interesting to note that while 90% of people stated that they were Catholic in the 2006 census, a Europoll conducted several months earlier found that just 72% of people believe there is a God which appears to suggest that there is a large number of Catholics in Ireland who do not believe in God.” These apparantly irreconcilable numbers can be explained by looking at the place religion has in everyday life in Ireland. By European standards church attendance is still relatively high - 60%. Still the reduction on the 85% who attended church regularly 25 years ago is huge. Church is starting to be more and more a place to go on special occasions like to babtize children, to get married or to bury their dead.

     “Being Catholic, or Protestant, in Ireland is as much a cultural as a religious statement – it’s a statement about a heritage rather than a belief. There was often a significant misunderstanding by outside observers looking at the long running conflict in Northern Ireland who frequently saw it as a “religious war”. It never was, it was a struggle between communities with diverse histories and cultures. Thus the well known gag about the Belfast man who stated that he was Jewish, only to be asked “Yes, but are you a Catholic Jew or a Protestant Jew?”


Fdo: Anna-Leena Launonen

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_Republic_of_Ireland
http://www.dochara.com/the-irish/facts/about-religion/