Some 92 per cent of Irish people described themselves as Roman Catholic. However, Protestant (including Church of Ireland: 2.35%), Methodist (0.14%), Presbyterian (0.37%), Jewish (0.04%) and Quaker communities have existed in Ireland for many years, and other religions such as Buddhism, Islam, and Christian Science have developed followings in recent times.
Although the number of Roman Catholics in the country remains high, the Roman Catholic Church can no longer claim to be the force it once was. Traditionally high attendance at Sunday mass and confession have fallen in recent years and there has been a marked downturn in the number of vocations to the priesthood. In addition, anecdotal evidence suggests that the conviction of a number of individual clergymen for the sexual abuse of children and revelations that two of the most prominent church figures in the country had fathered children in the 1970s (but continued to preach as celibates) have dramatically undermined confidence in the Church.
This comes at a time when sexual morality is increasingly seen as a private matter in which Church dogma should have little or no say. Meanwhile, the Church's preoccupation with the subject in former times has become for many Irish people the subject of ridicule and caricature, although periodic statements from members of the hierarchy seek to reaffirm its "moral authority" on sexual matters.
It would, however, overstate the case to say that the power of the Church has diminished altogether. A clause in the 1937 Constitution guaranteeing a poorly defined "special position" for the Church was rescinded after a referendum in 1970, but divisive referendum campaigns on abortion and divorce in the 1980s and '90s showed the Church's continuing determination to influence legislation.
Furthermore, the Church has often played a crucial and at times very subtle role in Northern Ireland politics, where inter-religious tension is a complex issue. In education, the Church co-operates with the State in running schools at both primary and secondary level and clergy often take part in the management of lay schools. Even in healthcare, Church orders have played a very active, though diminishing, role in the running of hospitals and hospices.
The stereotypical notion of a priest-ridden society of god-fearing religiosity is no longer valid. The modern Irish do as they please. Bans on contraception, divorce, homosexuality and "evil" literature have gradually been removed from the statute books. The expectations of Irish women are no longer confined to motherhood and housewifery, while the stigma attaching to unmarried motherhood, which led in the past to thousands of babies being given up for adoption, is slowly evaporating.
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