Religion. Ireland has two main religious groups. The majority of Irish are Roman Catholic, and a smaller number are Protestant (mostly Anglicans and Presbyterians). However, there is a majority of Protestants in the northern province of Ulster.
Although predominantly Roman Catholic, Ireland today is a multi-cultural society where all religions are embraced and respected as playing vital roles in the societal make-up of the country.
Irish Catholics (Irish: Caitlicigh na hÉireann) are an ethnoreligious group native to Ireland whose members are both Catholic and Irish. They have a large diaspora, which includes over 36 million American citizens and over 14 million British citizens (a quarter of the British population).
Ireland is split between the Republic of Ireland (predominantly Catholic) and Northern Ireland (predominantly Protestant).
Unionists and loyalists, who for historical reasons were mostly Ulster Protestants, wanted Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom. Irish nationalists and republicans, who were mostly Irish Catholics, wanted Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland.
The Roman Catholic Church reveres Mary, the mother of Jesus, as "Queen of Heaven." However, there are few biblical references to support the Catholic Marian dogmas — which include the Immaculate Conception, her perpetual virginity and her Assumption into heaven. This is why they are rejected by Protestants.
Census 2021 results show that 46% of our population are now Catholic, while 43% are Protestant or another Christian religion.
By 1560 the majority of the nobility supported the rebellion; a provisional government was established, the Scottish Parliament renounced the Pope's authority, and the mass was declared illegal. Scotland had officially become a Protestant country.
Is the Church of England Catholic or Protestant? The Church of England is Protestant.
Statistics. In the 2022 Irish census 69% of the population identified as Catholic in Ireland.
Taig in Northern Ireland is most commonly used as a derogatory term by loyalists to refer to Irish Catholics.
Several splinter groups have been formed as a result of splits within the IRA, including the Continuity IRA and the Real IRA, both of which are still active in the dissident Irish republican campaign.
When Northern Ireland was formed in 1920, it was decided, partly because of where Catholic and Protestant populations lived, to only include six of the nine counties of Ulster within the new state. Thus, the remaining three counties eventually formed part of the Irish Free State.
Ireland has two main religious groups. The majority of Irish are Roman Catholic, and a smaller number are Protestant (mostly Anglicans and Presbyterians). However, there is a majority of Protestants in the northern province of Ulster.
As a branch of Christianity, Catholicism emphasises the doctrine of God as the 'Holy Trinity' (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit). Many Irish accept the authority of the priesthood and the Roman Catholic Church, which is led by the Pope.
While Swedes may have become conscientious Catholics by the Late Middle Ages, the country would later become known as a bastion of Protestantism. Sweden completed its transformation from Catholic to Protestant by the end of the 1500s.
There are two official religions in Italy. The Roman Catholic Church is one and soccer is the other. Officially, however, Catholicism is virtually the state religion. The great majority of Italians are baptized Catholics, and until recently, all children were named after a Catholic Saint.
It has been traditionally claimed that Everton FC is 'the Catholic team' of Merseyside, whereas Liverpool FC is 'the Protestant team'.
After being firmly established in Scotland for nearly a millennium, the Catholic Church was outlawed following the Scottish Reformation in 1560. Catholic Emancipation in 1793 and 1829 helped Catholics regain both religious and civil rights.
Most adherents to organised religion in Wales follow one of the Christian denominations such as the Presbyterian Church of Wales, Baptist and Methodist churches, the Church in Wales, Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy.
The Italian territory is divided into 225 Catholic dioceses (whose bishops have been organised, since 1952, in the politically influential Italian Episcopal Conference, CEI) and, according to Church statistics (which do not consider current active members), 96% of the country's population was baptised as Catholic.
Dublin now has the lowest percentage of Catholics in the Irish Republic, with just over half — 53 percent — choosing to identify as Catholics on the census form.
Tensions Leading to the Troubles
While Ireland was fully independent, Northern Ireland remained under British rule, and the Catholic communities in cities like Belfast and Derry (legally called Londonderry) complained of discrimination and unfair treatment by the Protestant-controlled government and police forces.