FROM THE ARCHIVES:Twenty years ago more than 80 per cent of Catholics attended Sunday Mass, according to a survey carried out in the late 1980s by Dr Michael MacGreil, a sociologist at Maynooth college whose surveys of Irish attitudes had prompted controversy over the years. He also received some less positive responses to his questionnaires, as reported by then religious affairs correspondent Andy Pollak.
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A NEW survey on religious practice and attitudes has found that over 80 per cent of Catholics in the Republic continue to attend weekly Mass, considerably fewer people believe in Christian unity and that there is a high level of intolerance towards religious minorities.
This intolerance was shown in the finding that 51 per cent of those interviewed, all but 6 per cent of whom were Catholics, would not marry a Methodist or welcome a Methodist into their families. Sixty per cent would not marry or welcome a Jew into their families; 69 per cent would not marry or welcome an agnostic; 71 per cent would baulk at an atheist; 79 per cent at a Muslim and 87 per cent at a Hare Krishna.
The survey carried out between November 1988 and April 1989 by Maynooth Sociologist, the Rev Michael MacGreil, found that 82 per cent of those interviewed had attended weekly Mass, a drop of 5 per cent since 1984 and 9 per cent since 1974 . . .
The lowest level of attendance was among those reared in Dublin and Cork cities – 64 per cent of those interviewed – with a slightly higher rate (69 per cent) among residents of Dublin city and county. In Munster 90 per cent went to weekly Mass and in Connacht/Ulster 92 per cent.
The equivalent rate of attendance at a weekly service by people belonging to the main Protestant denominations was 55 per cent.
One of the more surprising findings was that belief in the desirability and practicality of unity between the Catholic and Protestant Churches has fallen sharply since the early 1970s. Less surprising was the finding that Irish people still feel they have a close personal relationship with God. Eighty seven per cent felt either extremely or somewhat close to God most of the time, with only 1.6 per cent not believing in God.
The survey showed that 13 per cent would deny Irish citizenship to Jews, 18 per cent to agnostics, 19 per cent to atheists, 24 per cent to Muslims and 39 per cent to Hare Krishnas. Seven per cent would go so far as to debar and deport agnostics and atheists and 17 per cent would do the same to Hare Krishnas.
Launching the survey yesterday the auxiliary bishop of Dublin, Dr Donal Murray, said the picture outlined by Dr MacGreil was a positive one “of a faith which reflects personal conviction, not mere conformity”.
He also noted the rise in the number of people who did not go to confession, and, on the other hand, the substantial increase in the number who now go to weekly communion . . .
An intriguing finding of Dr MacGreil’s latest report is that the number of people who believed that their religion was an advantage in “getting on” in Ireland or in life had risen sharply since he asked the same question of a sample of Dublin people in 1972-73. Nationally 44.2 per cent and in Dublin 43.7 per cent thought it was either a great or a slight advantage (26.6 per cent and 23.8 per cent respectively thought it was a great advantage) compared to only 23.3 per cent in 1972-73 (when 11.1 per cent thought it a great advantage).
Similarly, the number who thought it was neither an advantage or a disadvantage had fallen from 73.3 per cent in 1972-73 to 54.6 per cent nationally and 53.5 per cent in Dublin in 1988-89.
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