The “quiet revival” in Britain, especially amongst younger men, might be occurring within the Republic of Ireland as well, with recent research suggesting increasingly favourable attitudes towards Christianity within the country, albeit with a good amount of suspicion towards the Roman Catholic Church.
A poll of a 1,000 people commissioned by The Iona Institute, and carried out by Amarach Research, discovered that Gen Z (18 to 24 years-old) are more open to faith than Millennials (25 to 34 years old).
A majority of individuals in Ireland (61 per cent) described themselves as religious or spiritual ultimately. The overwhelming majority of the Irish population still identifies as Roman Catholic, nonetheless only about 16 per cent said they went to mass frequently.
Just over a fifth of respondents said they weren’t Catholic, with 1 / 4 said they’d not object if the Catholic Church were to vanish overnight.
Dissatisfaction with the Church, unsurprisingly, stems from the abuse scandals which have dogged it in recent many years, although there are signs that its repute is slowly improving.
Forty per cent of individuals said that they had an unfavourable view of the Catholic Church, down from 47 per cent in 2011, while favourable rankings went from 24 per cent to 27 per cent in the identical period.
Concerns about abuse and other church scandals were the essential concerns raised by nearly three quarters of those with an unfavourable opinion. Just 17 per cent objected to the Church not being pro-LGBT or pro-abortion and 14 per cent had concerns concerning the Church’s historic influence over politics within the country.
Despite significant concerns with the Catholic Church as an establishment, many Irish people still see value in its teachings, with 45% saying there was a profit to Catholic teachings. Half of respondents had a positive view of Christianity overall, and 21 per cent have a negative view.
Respondents were more positive about Christianity generally. Half said their attitude towards Christianity was positive, in comparison with only 28% who said the identical concerning the Catholic Church. Nonetheless, one in five (21%) had a negative attitude towards Christianity, while over 1 / 4 (29%) were ambivalent.
The Iona Institute noted in its conclusions to the research, “While perceptions of the Catholic Church remain negative on balance, especially amongst younger generations, nevertheless religious identity and spiritual orientation remain essential for the overwhelming majority of Irish people.
“Despite the legacy of the clerical abuse scandals, most individuals agree Catholic teachings and the Church itself remain relevant and essential to the broader sense of Irish identity and as a source of values and guidance for the long run.”
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