Irish Catholics rank towards the higher end of European countries on measures of weekly Mass attendance and daily prayer, according to research commissioned by the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference.
Data from previous European Social Survey (ESS) surveys; Amárach Research on behalf of the Iona Institute; Central Statistics Office figures, Barna research and academic studies were used to analyse religious trends across the island of Ireland.
Turning the Tide? Recent religious trends on the island of Ireland said that when it comes to Mass attendance, Ireland’s Catholics are among Europe’s "more practising", with 31% saying they attended at least once a week.
This places Ireland fourth overall, alongside Italy (32%), but well behind Poland (49%) and Slovakia (46%).
There is a "significant drop off" however on Mass attendance among young adults, according to the report.
Irish 16-29 year olds rank sixth overall (at 17%), though this is at least double the rates in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium (all 5%).
Prayerfulness follows a similar pattern according to the research.
A third of Irish Catholic adults (34%) reported praying on a daily basis, placing them towards the upper end of all countries in the sample, and second to Portuguese Catholics (37%) among western European countries.
In all countries - with the notable exception of France, young adults prayed "significantly less frequently" than adults in general.
But young Irish people were joint fourth in their prayerfulness (17%), alongside Belgium, and behind Portugal (28%), Poland (23%), and Croatia (20%).
Weekly-or-more attendance at religious services among all Irish 16-29 year olds fell dramatically between 2002 and 2022 (32% to 9%), and young Catholics attending Mass fell greatly (41% to 7%).
However, the ESS figures show that between 2022 and 2024 there was "a jump" in the number of young Catholics attending Mass (7% to 17%) and for all young adults the numbers attending services rose from 9% to 14%.
The report said "this seeming surge" is only apparent in the young adult segment of the overall dataset.
Among all-age adults in general, there was only a slight increase in reported attendance (21% to 23%), and the overall Catholic rate remained unchanged (32%).
Despite this, a non-religious identity is more common among younger adults.
In general, both 'other Christian' and 'non-Christian' religion identities were "disproportionately popular" among this age cohort than amongst Irish adults.
In the 2023/2024 ESS survey, for instance, 4% of Irish adults picked 'other Christian' or 'non-Christian', compared to 11% of 16-29 year olds (with Islam accounting for roughly half in both).
Immigration "has certainly contributed significantly" to the Irish Catholic population, according to the report.
The 2002/2003 European Social Survey found that 6% of those identifying as Catholic in Ireland said they were born outside of the country. By 2023/24, that figure had grown to 18%.
Researchers also examined Northern Ireland; which they found was both the most religious region of the United Kingdom and the most religious part of the island of Ireland, in terms of both affiliation and religious practice.
A third each of Northern Irish adults identified as Catholic (34%) and other Christian (35%), compared to the UK averages of 10% and 27% respectively.
Reported weekly-or-more attendance at religious services in Northern Ireland, at 35%, is triple the UK average, at 12%.
Specifically, 41% of Catholics reported weekly-or-more Mass attendance, compared to a UK average of 28%.
Compared to other UK regions, only Catholics in the West Midlands (40%), Scotland (33%), and North East (31%) came close.
The report questions whether all of this means the tide is turning regarding secularism in Ireland.
Research in 2017 on 14-25 year olds (now around 23-34 years) concluded that 31% of Irish teens and 20% of young adults were practising Christians based on identity, the importance they place on faith, and whether they had attended a religious service within the last month.
Generally, however, this cohort expressed significant dissent from church teachings, particularly regarding sexual issues.
69% felt they are unable to live by church teaching on sexuality, and 79% at least partially regarded these teachings and those on homosexuality as wrong.
More recently, the report said a 2023 Barna study found that, in certain respects, Irish teens were more religious than their global peers.
Just over three in five (62%) Irish teens identified as a Christian, while nearly one-third were atheist, agnostic or of no faith.
But even amongst those who considered themselves Christians, there was widespread "apathy and scepticism" that Jesus existed.
The Irish Catholic Bishops have discussed the findings of the report at their spring conference in Maynooth, which concludes today.
