Catholic Identity in Contemporary Ireland: Belief and Belonging to Tradition
as
Tradition
Author: Inglis, Tom
Source: Journal of Contemporary Religion, Volume 22, Number 2, May
2007 , pp. 205-220(16)
Abstract:
Holy Catholic Ireland is changing rapidly. Irish Catholics no longer
have the same devotion to the Church that their parents had. While
institutional affiliation and levels of belief remain high, there has
been a decline in practice, particularly in the number going to Mass.
This article analyses recent changes in Catholic belief and practice,
compares them with trends among other European Catholics, and links
them to findings from a qualitative study of Contemporary Irish
Identities. The changes in Irish Catholic religiosity can be
associated with an ongoing detachment from the institutional church.
An orthodox adherence to institutional rules and regulations appears
to be giving way to a collective identification with a religious
heritage. What was once defined as á la carte Catholicism seems to be
giving way to a smorgasbord approach in which Catholics not only pick
and choose which institutional rules, beliefs, and practices they
prefer, but increasingly mix these with ingredients from other
religious traditions. These findings suggest a new typology of Irish
Catholics.
mothed out
I am also told that snakes have now returned to Ireland and can
occasionally be found in the wild.
Salahoona
Read Susan Greenfield - Search for Identity in the 21st Century -
nobody believes her - so you will get it cheap.
Donal
Cormac
It is a matter of belonging to a society. To the young there is an
interest in various festivals especially Christmas and First Communion
both of which bring them money or other presents. For the elderly,
daily Mass and the local Church hall provide alternatives to the work
place.
Cormac.
Salahoona
That was certainly the case in pre-famine Ireland - I quote from a
book mentioned below (from memory, I'm afraid) that the native Irish
('Irish servants') "were glad of the holiday, but were more interested
in their native superstitions".. I quote from the comments of eleven
years ago, if only to note the difference in tone on sci in those
days:
BEGIN:
Gareth G Davis (gdav...@osf1.gmu.edu) wrote:
:
: Figures from the 1830s suggest that church attendance/association
ranged
: from 40% to 10% of the population according to figures quoted in
: DK Akenson's "Small Differences"(1993). Attendance was higher in the
East
: and among prosperous people. Much lower in the West.
:
The real story of the Irish famine has yet to be told.
If you got a demographic map of Ireland around 1840 and
superimposed on that the distribution of Christian churches, you
will find that church attendance occurred in 'clusters'.
Very many people, looking at the 40% and 10% figures above, will
readily believe that church attendance was 'lax'. I think that if
you correlate church distribution with population, you will find
that there were vast areas of population with no Christian church
at all.
Rather than finding half empty churches, you will find that they
were more or less fully attended: Those who were Christian
attended a Christians church and those who were not Christian did
not attend a Christian church.
Demographic maps are available and also maps which show the
distribution of Christian churches. If you assume that church
attendance was 100%, where there was a Christian church, it
should be possible to correlate clusters of attendance with
Akenson's percentages.
It should also be possible to compare a demographic map of the
island after the famine and correlate the percentage drop in
population with the distribution of Christian churches. Such
correlation would have to be looked at alongside estimates of
mortality during the famine - those who could speak English and
lived near a port might have found it easier to get out.
But who would pay for such a study; the extermination of a an
ancient Indo European culture and people? The United States of
America? - who's God they did not trust.
Further information is available from:
Ref: 'Religion and Society in the Nineteenth Century'
'Studies in Irish Economic and Social History'
'The Economic and Social History Society of Ireland'
'Dundalgan Press (W. Tempest) Ltd. 1985
Sean Connolly
Donal
END:
Tazia Doll
To give them somewhere to go, don't knock it, mass is one of the few
places you can stare into space in reflection, without being stared at
etc. Kids like communion, the girls especially.
--
There are stars to be watched
Tazia Doll
>
> I am also told that snakes have now returned to Ireland and can
> occasionally be found in the wild.
I just leased a house initially.
Lou Ravi
Yeah, and they also like Big Brother, fashion parades and whoever is
number one in the top ten. But that doesn't give it any value at all. If
they want to stare into space and think then they can do it in the park,
at home or in the pub (with plenty of others after a dram or two) they
don't need the assistance of sky fairies.