THE 'TURNING TIDE' SURVEY
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During their Spring General Meeting, the Bishops of Ireland discussed Turning the Tide? Recent religious trends on the island of Ireland, a new report commissioned by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference. The authors, Stephen Bullivant, Professor of Theology and the Sociology of Religion at Saint Mary’s University, UK, and pharmacist Emily Nelson, who is completing a PhD in Sociology at Queens University Belfast, undertook this analysis of contemporary research into faith practice across the island of Ireland so as to provide an evidence-based account of recent religious trends.
The report (to access, click above) evaluates data from European Social Study surveys and two recent surveys conducted by Amárach Research, and a variety of academic studies, to examine belief, practice, and identity – focusing on Catholicism and other Christian denominations – to highlight regional, generational, and gender trends. It is structured around three main themes that emerged as particularly salient:
The overall religious profile of the island of Ireland, including areas of convergence and divergence between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland;
Patterns in belief, practice, and religious identification between generations, with particular attention to differences within young adult cohorts; and,
Gendered dimensions of religiosity, religious transmission, and attitudes toward Church teaching and institutions.
Key findings:
Ireland remains among the more religious countries in Europe, on measures of religious affiliation (fig. 1.1), religious service attendance (fig. 1.2), and frequency of prayer (fig. 1.3). Among western European countries, it is one of very few outliers with a relatively high level of overall religiosity.
Among Catholics specifically, Ireland also ranks towards the higher end of (especially western) European countries on measures of weekly Mass attendance (fig. 1.4) and daily prayer (fig. 1.5).
While key measures of Irish religiosity have declined significantly since the European Social Survey began in 2002/03, the most recent round – 2023/24 – shows a strong uptick in religious affiliation (figs 1.6) and religious practice (fig. 1.8).
This effect is most strongly evident among those aged 16-29 years, across both Catholics and Protestants (figs 1.7, 1.8).
Northern Ireland is both the most religious region of the United Kingdom (by a long way), and the most religious part of the island of Ireland, in terms of both affiliation (fig. 1.9) and religious practice (fig. 1.10).
Ireland presents a notable divergence from global patterns: although women in the republic are equally likely to be religious, they continue to play an influential role in transmitting faith, even as they express higher levels of moral dissent and institutional dissatisfaction.
Secularisation is not merely linear, but polarisation is occurring particularly within the Republic of Ireland.
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