1、The introduction,The overwhelming majority of people living on the island of Ireland are Christians.Most of those are Roman Catholic, and the rest are mainly Presbyterian, Church for Ireland (Anglican) or Methodist.There is a small Jewish population, and a growing Islamic grouping.There are Jehovahs
2、 Witnesses and Mormons and a few other Churches with very small communities.,Irelands main religion is Catholic, about 90% of the people is Catholic. However, many other religious tradition also is able to fully embody and respected. The freedom of religious belief and moral choice is clear, and wri
3、te Irish constitution in recent decades, Irish religious, social and political compatibility got generally embodiment and attention, and in this respect it has become a state of an international reputation.,Irelands constitution states that the state may not endorse any particular religion and guara
4、ntees freedom of religion. In 2011, 84.2% of the population identified themselves asRoman Catholic, 2.6% less than 5 years earlier, although the number of Catholics increased by 179,889.1Other significant Protestant denominations are thePresbyterian Church in Ireland, followed by theMethodist Church
5、 in Ireland. The second largest Christian denomination, theChurch of Ireland(Anglican), declined in membership for most of the twentieth century, but has more recently experienced an increase, as have other small Christian denominations. The countrysHinduandMuslimpopulations have experienced signifi
6、cant growth in recent years, due chiefly to immigration.2In the 2011 census, 269,811 people (5.9%) had no religion, with 3,905 and 3,521 people describing themselves as atheist and agnostic respectively. Those who did not state a religion numbered 72,914 (1.6%).1Researchers debate the relative signi
7、ficance ofsecularisationas a general feature of Irish society,3the interpretation of census results4and the extent to which religioussyncretismis becoming more widespread.5,Irish Religion Religions of Ireland,The 1991 census lists 92% of the population of the Republic of Ireland as Roman Catholic, C
8、hurch of Ireland: 2.35%; Presbyterian: 0.37%; Methodist: 0.14% Jewish 0.04%, Islamic: 0.11%, Jehovahs Witnesses: 0.10%, with misc. religions or a claim of no specific religious beliefs making up the other 4.89% of the population.On an all-Ireland basis the religions are as follows:,The Roman Catholi
9、c Church,The Catholic population of both the Republic and of Northern Ireland combined is about 3.9 million. It is estimated there are 1,300 parishes served by 4,000 priests. There are an estimated 20,000 people in various religious orders of priests, brothers and nuns.The Catholic Church is involve
10、d in education and health services. The Church cooperates with State agencies in education and welfare. The Irish Catholic Church sends over 4,500 missionaries to 85 different countries throughout Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and Oceania.,The Church of Ireland,The Church of Ireland is a
11、Protestant Episcopal Church. The Church of Ireland is actively involved in education and social services. The total membership of the Church of Ireland is around 380,000, 75% of whom live in Northern Ireland.,The Presbyterian Church,The Presbyterian Church is a Protestant Church of the Reformed trad
12、ition with a strong emphasis on the Scriptures. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland has ordained women to the ministry since the 1950s. There are approximately 312,000 Presbyterians in Ireland, more than 95% of who live in Northern Ireland.,The Methodist Church,Although closely linked to British Meth
13、odism, the Irish Methodist Church is an autonomous body. The Methodist Church has approximately 130 ministers. The total membership is around 60,000 people, about 90% of whom live in Northern Ireland. The church has developed a wide range of social work activities, through its missions in the larger
14、 cities. These provide facilities for the elderly and the needy. The Church is also involved in education.,ancient historical Irish religious friary in Ennis county Clare Ireland,Irish Church,The child abuse scandal,Senior Irish Catholic Protestant clergymen have criticized the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion for saying that Catholic Church in Ireland had lost all credibility over the child abuse scandal.,
