Fintan O’Toole, on his day, is one of Ireland’s sharpest social commentators observes (subs needed) that in the space of a generation the country has moved from more or less religious conformity towards the rule of the Catholic Church, to becoming somehting of a minority interest.
Something extraordinary yet not at all unexpected happened last week. For the first time, a detailed and respectable opinion survey showed that practising Catholics are now a minority in the Republic of Ireland. The Prime Time/TNS mrbi poll showed that just 44 per cent of people who regard themselves as Catholics attend Mass at least once a week. A clear majority, in other words, are not, by the church’s own standards, practising their faith. Most of the Republic’s population therefore lie somewhere on a line that runs from occasional Catholic, through lapsed Catholic, into other faiths and on towards apathy or atheism.
Although the poll draws from the Republic, there are some signs that Northern Ireland’s Catholic population is following similar belief trends.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
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