How open are Irish citizens to other religions?

Question

I have read that Ireland is more okay with things such as homosexuality - but are they okay with different religious beliefs? I'm an atheist, and personally - it terrifies me to remain in America due to the fact that beliefs and the government have the tendancy to become mixed together. The majority of Irish people, how do they feel about people of other beliefs? Are they more laid back, or very strict and uptight about only being kind to those of their beliefs?

Any information is helpful and appreciated.

Answer 1

Nobody would care if you were an atheist.  There are plenty of atheists in Ireland, and the majority of people are laid back about religion.  In fact, the subject rarely comes up in conversation.  Most people I know find the attitude to religion in America extreme and bizarre.  

The only problems I can think of that you might encounter is deciding what school to send your child to, as most primary (elementary) schools are run by the church.  But you do have the option of letting the child opt out of religion classes.

Answer 2

Generally Irish people are pretty open to people of other religious persuasions. It's considered a private matter in most places.

Answer 3

i love ireland but it can be a backward place especially with respect to religion

i'm an atheist too... yet people in ireland constantly refer to me as a non-practicing catholic... which gets on my nerves

the catholic church dominates ireland still to this day... so be prepared for mass on sunday tv along with the awful angelus (prayer time at 6 everyday just before the news)...

schools are dominated by religion so good luck finding a secular school

as for the irish people themselves they are catholic with a small c... they believe in god etc but largely ignore catholic doctrine on almost everything

Answer 4

Separation between church and state??

Ireland wouldn't be your best bet there i'm afraid. Although things have improved in the past 10-20 years though. There are still plenty of delicate issues being debated where there is a struggle between religious beliefs and government laws, like the abortion debate for example.

Yet i believe that the majority of Irish people are laid back about religion. My attitude would be: "Believe whatever you want to believe but keep it to yourself." No one likes to be preached at, or approached by people on the street trying to 'sell' religion. As an atheist, you'll get by just fine in Ireland.

Ireland has become so multicultural since the boom of the Celtic Tiger (over the past 10 years especially) that Irish people have no choice but to learn to be more accepting of other people's beliefs and cultures.

The most common religion in the Republic of Ireland is Catholicism, yet there seems to be a steady decline in the numbers of people who attend church on a weekly basis. There is also a shortage of priests and nuns in Ireland - "Over the last year 160 priests died but only nine were ordained, while 228 nuns died with just two taking their final vows." The younger generations of Ireland seem to be somewhat disillusioned by the hypocrisy of the Catholic church, particularly with regards the numerous scandals only coming to light in recent years, involving the abuse of children whilst in state care, at the hands of so called 'religious' people, like the Christian Brothers.  "The scandals broke a dam of silence, prompting apologies from both the Church and the Government for the abuse of children and women who passed through religious institutions. An estimated €1 billion (£750,000) are being paid out in compensation to victims." Films such as 'A Song For a Raggy Boy' and 'The Magdalene Sisters' helped to highlight such issues.

A lot of young people today would also disagree with the Church's stance on g*y marriage... etc. So in my opinion a lot of people choose to worship god in their own way, in their thoughts, without necessarily following the strict guidelines of the Catholic Church.

Would others out there agree with me on this??

Answer 5

i think we are cool with it. My friend is an atheist and our school accepted her, even though religion is important in our school! Plus many different churches ae built around ireland for jewish, protestants, muslims and buddhists so we tend to accept all religious beliefs

Answer 6

The Irish are very open to other religions.

The Irish are very laid back, They're very open to homosexuality and there are so many foreign nationals in Ireland, It's hard not to be open to other nationalities.

80,000 polish live in Dublin alone and there are loads of Muslims here too.

I'm Irish and most of my friends aren't Irish and I'm also a teacher and about more than 30% of the students are foreign.

The Irish are friendly and open to other cultures and religions so there is nothing to worry about.

Good Luck. = )

Answer 7

Pretty darn ok, compared to how it used to be. People are a lot more open to differant religions, and there are a lot more atheists in ireland. The government is a lot less influenced by the church now, which is partly due to the history of abuse within the Catholic Church, where people have lst their trust in it. It is also due to the influence of multicultural religions in Ireland now and in the government itself. People are pretty relaxed about religion here. People arent very opinionated openly about religion or anything else for  that matter. I've seen some of the opinions on religion of some of the Americans, and I was a little shocked. There are no major activists for or against any religious beliefs any more.

Answer 8

divorce only became legal in Ireland in the last 10 years (give or take).  are you thinking of leaving the USA for a less tolerant nation?  i'd look a little deeper than this forum before getting a passport.