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“Catholicism was once so all-pervading in Irish life that it seemed a definition of Irishness: but now, according to a survey by the pollsters Red C, the Irish are losing their faith quicker than most: seven years ago, 69% of Irish people described themselves as ‘religious’: this has now fallen more than 20 points to 47%.”
Mary Kenny, ‘The End of Catholic Ireland’ The Guardian 8 Aug 2012
“Statistics on weekly Mass attendance have revealed an overall decline over the last 30 years, which is most marked in urban areas. A 2006 Poll conducted by the Irish state broadcaster RTE revealed that 48% of those surveyed attended mass at least weekly, as compared to 81% in 1990. A 2011 Survey found weekly attendance rates in the Dublin area to be 14%.”
faithsurvey.co.uk
“A man waves the rainbow colored flag as he celebrates a landslide victory of a Yes vote after the referendum on same sex marriage was won by popular ballot vote by a margin of around two-to-one at Dublin Castle on May 23 [2015] in Dublin, Ireland. The referendum saw 62.1 percent of Irish voters say 'yes' to changing the nation's constitution to define marriage as a union between two people regardless of their sex. With the move, Ireland became the first country in the world to approve gay marriage in a popular national vote.”
nbcnews.com, 2 June 2015
The Republic of Ireland is a nominally Catholic country with the smallest percentage of evangelical Christians of any English-speaking country worldwide. Empty ‘religion’ in some circles and the economic boom and crash of the Celtic Tiger has resulted in cynicism and ambivalence among many Irish. It’s common to see mistrust both of church authority and the promise of economic prosperity. However, views on faith among the Irish are becoming less cultural and more authentic and explicit as individuals either move away from the church completely or desire a deeper experience with God.
Serge Ireland has a primary focus of strengthening the Irish church in all of her expressions and supporting Irish believers as they engage their neighbors with the gospel.
