Christianity in Ireland

Christianity (Irish: Críostaíocht) has been the largest religion in Ireland since the 5th century. After a pagan past of Antiquity, missionaries (most famously including Saint Patrick) converted the Irish tribes to Christianity in quick order. This produced a great number of saints in the Early Middle Ages, as well as a faith interwoven with Irish identity for centuries since − though less so in recent times.

Most Christian churches are organized on an "all-Ireland" basis, including both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. In the Republic of Ireland, 69% of the population adheres to the Catholic Church, 4.2% to Protestantism and 2.1% to the Eastern Orthodox Church.^[1] In Northern Ireland, the largest church is the Catholic Church, which accounts for some 42.3% of the population; the various branches of Protestantism are followed by at least 30.5% in total, while 6.9% were Christians who did not belong to a Church listed in the census.^[2] Eastern Orthodoxy has been the fastest growing branch of Christianity in Ireland since 1991.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Ireland has for many centuries been noted for its perpetually strong Christian faith. However, a "Quiet Revolution" like the Quiet Revolution of Quebec is said to have taken place and Ireland has become increasingly secular in various aspects of society.^[6] The 1972 amendment of the Irish constitution, for example, removed the "special position" of the Catholic Church as "guardian of the Faith" and the recognition of other named religious denominations in Ireland.^[7] However, in 1983 abortion was banned by the Eighth Amendment of the Irish constitution which recognized the right to life of the unborn as equal to the right to life of the mother and was advocated for by representatives of the Catholic Church.^[8]^[9] Only in 2018 was a referendum held to repeal the Eighth Amendment, and this repeal marks a significant point in the secularization of the constitution made possible by a significant secularization of the people.^[10]^[11] Today, a large proportion of Irish Christians are thought to be nominally so, for reasons ranging from cultural to apathetic. Catholicism has been decline in the Republic of Ireland.^[12]

^ "Table 36: Persons, male and female, classified by religious denomination with actual percentage change, 2006 and 2011" (PDF). This is Ireland, Highlights from Census 2011, Part 1. Central Statistics Office. p. 104. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
^ Cite error: The named reference nisra21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "Profile of the Orthodox Churches in Ireland". HSE.ie. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
^ "Christian Census of Population 2016 – Profile 8 Irish Travellers, Ethnicity and Religion". Central Statistics Office. 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2024. Orthodox Christians have been the fastest growing religion in Ireland since 1991.
^ "Irish Census (2022) | Measuring religious adherence in Ireland". Faith Survey. Retrieved 17 June 2024. The fastest growing branch of Christianity is the Orthodox Church, whose adherents in Ireland grew from 62,187 in 2016 to 105,827 in 2022.
^ Serhan, Yasmeen (26 May 2018). "A 'Quiet Revolution' Comes to Ireland". The Atlantic. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
^ "Fifth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1972". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
^ "Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1983". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
^ Walsh, Dick (6 April 1983). "Bishop defends Hierarchy on amendment". The Irish Times. p. 11.
^ Conneely, Ailbhe (18 September 2018). "Eighth Amendment repealed after bill signed into law". RTÉ. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
^ "Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Act 2018". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
^ McGarry, Patsy (7 May 2021). "'A possible disaster': Catholic Church reckons with declining interest post-pandemic". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 May 2023.

[census2011-1] "Table 36: Persons, male and female, classified by religious denomination with actual percentage change, 2006 and 2011" (PDF). This is Ireland, Highlights from Census 2011, Part 1. Central Statistics Office. p. 104. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 November 2012. Retrieved 14 April 2012.

[nisra21-2] Cite error: The named reference nisra21 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3] "Profile of the Orthodox Churches in Ireland". HSE.ie. Retrieved 22 July 2022.

[4] "Christian Census of Population 2016 – Profile 8 Irish Travellers, Ethnicity and Religion". Central Statistics Office. 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2024. Orthodox Christians have been the fastest growing religion in Ireland since 1991.

[5] "Irish Census (2022) | Measuring religious adherence in Ireland". Faith Survey. Retrieved 17 June 2024. The fastest growing branch of Christianity is the Orthodox Church, whose adherents in Ireland grew from 62,187 in 2016 to 105,827 in 2022.

[6] Serhan, Yasmeen (26 May 2018). "A 'Quiet Revolution' Comes to Ireland". The Atlantic. Retrieved 22 July 2022.

[7] "Fifth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1972". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 22 July 2022.

[8] "Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1983". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 22 July 2022.

[9] Walsh, Dick (6 April 1983). "Bishop defends Hierarchy on amendment". The Irish Times. p. 11.

[10] Conneely, Ailbhe (18 September 2018). "Eighth Amendment repealed after bill signed into law". RTÉ. Retrieved 22 July 2022.

[11] "Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Act 2018". Irish Statute Book. Retrieved 22 July 2022.

[12] McGarry, Patsy (7 May 2021). "'A possible disaster': Catholic Church reckons with declining interest post-pandemic". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 May 2023.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]