A new study says attitudes towards the Church in Ireland are “deeply divided” in the once deeply Catholic country. Source: Crux.
A poll commissioned by The Iona Institute shows the Irish public are almost evenly divided in their attitudes towards priests and nuns with almost exactly a third in each case viewing them positively, a third negatively, with the rest neutral.
“Our research comes at a time of considerable change in Irish society: Not surprisingly, religious attitudes and beliefs are also changing as well,” the report says.
“While perceptions of the Catholic Church remain negative on balance, especially among younger generations, nevertheless religious identity and spiritual orientation remain important for the vast majority of Irish people.”
Once one of the most Catholic nations in Europe, revelations about clerical sexual abuse has left public confidence in the Church at its lowest level in the history of Ireland.
Not only has Mass attendance dropped significantly over the past quarter century, the Irish people have increasingly rejected laws seen as rooted in Catholic teaching.
In 2015, the country held a referendum on same-sex marriage in which 62 per cent of the voters backed changing the constitution to allow the practice. An even larger number – over 66 per cent – voted to change the constitution to allow legal abortion in 2018.
The new poll showed that 42 per cent of those with negative views of the Church named abuse as a reason for their views, with 31 per cent naming scandals. Only 17 per cent named “old-fashioned views” – such as attitude towards women, abortion and LGBTQ+ issues – as the reason, while 14 per cent named the traditional control of the Church on the country as a reason.
The report said despite the legacy of the clerical abuse scandals, most people agree Catholic teachings and the Church itself “remain relevant and important to the wider sense of Irish identity and as a source of values and guidance for the future.”
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Attitudes to Church in Ireland are ‘deeply divided’ according to new Poll (By Charles Collins, Crux)
