A total of 165 students in 10 different schools yesterday completed the first Leaving Cert exam in religious education.
But, on the basis of the trend seen at Junior Cert level, the subject is expected to increase in popularity in coming years, as schools opt for the exam.
The number taking Junior Cert religion has increased from 6,000 to 21,000 within three years. Only about 3 per cent of students failed the Junior Cert religion exam last year.
Yesterday, as part of a pilot project, 140 students took the higher-level paper and 25 opted for ordinary level in the Leaving Cert exam.
CAO points will be given in the normal way, based on the grade secured in the exam.
The higher-level paper was regarded as very challenging. Students were asked to imagine Socrates and the Sophists taking part in a TV chat show. They were asked; what questions about life do you think they would raise in today's world?
Mr Tom Gunning, a teacher at Loreto, Wexford, said that some of the questions, including this one, might have been more appropriate for third-level students.
But the good news, he said, is that many students are well able to answer this type of questions - despite the perception that teenagers have no interest in religion. A total of 17 students at his school took the exam yesterday. Next year, this will increase to 26.
Students were also asked how religion informs a person's conscience with reference to one world religion they have studied.
At ordinary level, students were asked to compare the role of men and women in leading world religions.
Pressure for an exam in religion has been building up for years from various religious organisations and schools . But the way was only cleared for the introduction of the subject in State exams after the the 1999 Education Act repealed legislation - dating back to 1878. This had banned the teaching of religion in second-level schools for exam purposes.
Teachers say the new Religious Education course at Leaving Cert is popular with students who love English and history, because of the large volume of reading involved. It is also regarded as a useful subject for students who are thinking about taking philosophy or sociology at third level.
The breadth of the new Leaving Cert course will come as a shock to those who regarded school religion classes as something of a break from real study.
Yesterday's exam paper had eight separate sections.
These were:
