In Ireland, Catholic baptisms fall by 30 per cent over a decade

In Ireland, 15.6 per cent of parents register their children as having no religion. Whilst this figure may seem low compared with other, far more secularised regions of Europe, it is significant in a country with a strong Catholic tradition.

A study by the Iona Institute, reported by Christian Today, concludes that on the island, the number of children aged between zero and four registered as Roman Catholic fell from 78.3 per cent in 2016 to 65.5 per cent in 2022.

All Evangelical Focus news and opinion, on your WhatsApp

According to the authors of the study, which is based on data from the majority of Catholic parishes, “Cultural Catholicism is still quite strong in Ireland”.

Although more and more couples are marrying outside the Church, many parents do, however, choose to continue having their children baptised or encourage them to receive their First Communion at their local Catholic parish.

“Given that births have fallen by almost a fifth in the last ten years, and more people are ticking the ‘No Religion’ box in the Census, we could expect nothing but a sharp drop in baptism figures”, concludes Tom Finegan, president of Iona.

Ireland has a fertility rate of 1.5 children per woman, well above the European Union average (1.3), but below the figure of almost two children (1.9) that Ireland had only one decade ago, in 2015.