Analysis: Religious practice is in decline in Ireland and secularisation and cultural diversity are on the rise, so why is confirmation still so popular?
By Patricia Kieran, Mary Immaculate College Limerick and Aiveen Mullally, Marino Institute of Education Dublin
Communion and confirmation season is upon us. It's that time in Irish family life when many prepare their homes and gardens for family parties as their children celebrate the sacraments of communion and confirmation. There's a flurry of excitement as new outfits are purchased and bouncy castles are booked.
So why all this fuss? There are seven sacraments in the Catholic tradition and the word sacrament, from the Latin sacramentum, signifies a doorway to the sacred. For countless children in Ireland’s Catholic primary schools, confirmation is usually celebrated when they are 12 years old on the cusp of adolescence, in the final months of their final year of primary school.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Liveline, listeners call in about the costs associated with confirmation
Participating in the sacrament of confirmation is presented as an opportunity for children to become more personally engaged, active, committed and informed members of the Catholic Church. The word confirmation originates from the Latin 'confirmare’ meaning ‘to strengthen’ and recipients are invited to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Traditionally, Ireland’s Catholic primary schools have been centres for sacramental initiation with the lion’s share of preparation being undertaken by the teacher, but this emphasis is not found in all Christian traditions or indeed in all types of schools in Ireland. Educate Together and Community National Schools do not engage in faith formation and they do not prepare children for any type of religious rituals as they view this as the preserve of parents, guardians and faith communities outside of school. Church of Ireland schools generally have no sacramental preparation programmes and confirmation tends to take place at the behest of individuals, when they are ready to commit to it, in their own parish, in later adolescence or adulthood.
A 2018 Pew report found Ireland to be the third most religiously observant country in Western Europe, but more recent data presents unprecedented and rapid decline in numbers of people self-identifying as Roman Catholic. In just six years the number of Catholics in Ireland fell by 10%, decreasing from 79% in 2016 to 69% in 2022. Alongside this decline, census records indicate an increase from 10% in 2016 to 14% in 2022, in a group sometimes referred to as ‘the nones’ or the ‘No Religion’ category. It’s no wonder then that confirmation is sometimes spoken of as a sacrament of exit from the Catholic Church since it represents the final time that increasing numbers are actively involved in a Catholic ritual.
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While the Catholic Church consistently emphasises the need for informed and freely given consent, it could be argued that there is something of a captive audience for the sacraments in a country where 88.3% of primary schools are Catholic. Indeed recent research on 400 student teachers in Ireland found that 99% of them had received sacramental preparation for Penance, Eucharist and Confirmation in primary school.
Arguably, the conjunction of sacramental preparation with schooling places a huge burden on teachers, especially on teachers who are non-religious. In 2024, delegates at the INTO primary teacher union's annual congress called for a survey on teachers’ attitudes and for faith formation to be taken out of schools. On top of this, some parents wrongly assume that sacramental initiation is an obligatory part of enrolling their children in a Catholic school. Others opt for Confirmation to avoid deviating from the norm as they don’t want their child to be the odd one out in the class.
To address this situation, Bishop Brendan Leahy suggested delaying the age of confirmation to 16 years to facilitate the recipient’s autonomous deliberation, personal spiritual formation and active engagement with the faith community, prior to receiving the sacrament. Indeed, the Catholic Church has also introduced a number of parish-based programmes to recalibrate the process in favour of more informed, collaborative, child, parent and parish-centred engagement in the process without placing a huge burden on teachers in schools.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's News at One One in 2021, should communion and confirmation preparations be removed from schools?
As Ireland becomes increasingly multibelief and non-religious, putting one’s child forward for sacramental preparation necessitates a deeper and more conscious decision-making process for children, parents and guardians, schools and parishes. Catholic communities in Ireland, enriched by members from Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and elsewhere, undoubtedly celebrate confirmation as a vibrant spiritual ritual which is profoundly meaningful. In a secular, materialistic and highly individualised world, confirmation brings families together, focuses on the quest for meaning and spiritual identity while celebrating each child’s unique potential.
Undoubtedly, some who experience strong social and personal impulses to get their children confirmed may be conflicted by the fact that they have serious reservations about many aspects of Catholic doctrine and ethical teachings, especially given the legacy and backdrop of multiple horrific abuses in the Church. For some who don’t practice Catholicism or identify as being Catholic, they may still want their children to receive the sacraments due to the simple and powerful feeling of nostalgia for childhood rituals or for fear of upsetting the child’s grandparents if they don’t conform.
People opt for confirmation for a variety of complex and perhaps interconnected social, religious or personal reasons. These might include a commitment to some form of Catholicism and a desire that their children encounter a religious tradition and spiritual practice, even if they don’t fully believe in it themselves.
From RTÉ's A Ring and A Prayer, Voices of Experience discuss faith and family. All episodes now streaming on RTÉ Player. If you are interested in taking part in Season Two of the series, contact ringprayer@esras.com
Sociologist Tom Inglis’ research reveals the complexity of Irish Catholicism, encompassing orthodox, liberal, creative, conservative, lapsed and critical Catholic viewpoints and everything in between. While there is still a high level of identification with being Catholic in Ireland, Inglis notes that contemporary Catholicism tends to revolve more around family celebrations and cultural heritage rather than the institutional church.
Suffice to say, there is no one-size-fits-all form of Irish Catholicism. In any decision about confirmation, the voice and agency of both child and parents needs to be more prominent than ever. Perhaps because family is so important in Irish life, even in a growing secular context, any joyful religious ritual that brings intergenerational family together still remains hugely important.
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Dr Patricia Kieran is Associate Professor in Religious Education at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. Dr Aiveen Mullally is course leader for the MES in Leadership of Christian Schools Online and Director for the Centre for Religious Education at Marino Institute of Education, Dublin
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
