Young people in Northern Ireland are more likely to have a “very positive” attitude to Christianity than their elders, according to new data from advocacy group, the Iona Institute, which said that the findings lend support to the notion of a ‘Quiet Revival’ of faith.
Exactly 30 percent of 18-24 year-olds in Northern Ireland had a “very positive” attitude towards Christianity when asked, compared to 22 percent of respondents aged 65 and older.
The poll, conducted by Amárach Research and based on a representative sample of 1,200 adults in Northern Ireland, also indicated the growing presence of ‘nones’ (those who say they don’t belong to any religion), with 36 percent of respondents describing themselves as such – the largest category of respondent.
Meanwhile, 28 percent described themselves as Catholic, 14 percent as Presbyterian, 11 percent as belonging to the Church of Ireland, with a final 11 percent associated with other Christian churches or religions.
When members of the largest religious cohort – Catholics – were asked if they were regular Mass goers, 40 percent said that they were, a figure almost double that given by their southern counterparts earlier this year (21 percent).
Almost 60 percent of respondents said that they were religious and/or spiritual (56 percent), just below the 61 percent figure given in the Republic earlier this year.
However, a higher proportion of respondents in the north said that they were neither religious nor spiritual (39 percent) than in the south (30 percent).
The rest said that they “don’t know”.
People in Northern Ireland were found to be more likely than people in the south to engage in every kind of spiritual and/or religious activity or practice they were asked about, with one exception: checking their horoscope (nine percent NI vs 23 percent in the Republic).
Over half (51 percent) of those surveyed said they pray, 44 percent said they attend religious services (not necessarily regularly), 33 percent said they meditate, while 38 percent read religious or spiritual books, such as the Bible – compared with 18 percent of people in the Republic.
The 18-24 year-old respondents were more likely to pray (53 percent vs 36 percent) and read or watch religious content (41 percent vs 31 percent/41 percent vs 28 percent) than the 25-34 year-olds.
When it came to attitudes towards Christianity, the main finding highlighted by the Iona Institute was the enthusiasm of the youngest cohort (18-24 year-olds), who were most likely to view Christianity “very positively” (30 percent), compared to just four percent who viewed it “very negatively”.
Almost half of the respondents (49 percent) viewed Christianity favourably, versus 23 percent for the Catholic Church and 30 percent for the Protestant Churches, which the Iona Institute described as likely “indicating hostility towards the institutions”.
Asked for the reasons behind their unfavourable views towards the Catholic Church in Northern Ireland, 47 percent ascribed their poor perception of the Church to the child sexual abuse and scandals.
A further 21 percent took issue with the Catholic Church’s religious doctrine and beliefs, followed by “control over education and social influence” (19 percent) and “treatment of women and mother and baby homes” (18 percent).
A similar open question was asked of those who had a negative perception of Protestant Churches in Northern Ireland, the response coming that “sectarianism and division” (26 percent) was the largest reason for a negative perception of Protestant Churches in the north.
This was followed by “social conservatism and discrimination” (18 percent) and “political control and influence” (11 percent).
Commenting on the findings, CEO of the Iona Institute, David Quinn said that the “fact that some kind of revival of interest in religion is occurring among the youngest age group surveyed should encourage all the Churches”.
“It is not an outlier finding because polls elsewhere have seen the same thing. Maybe a growing subset of young people are concluding that secularism isn’t really giving satisfactory answers to life’s big questions,” he said.
There will likely be fewer ‘cultural Christians’ in the future, Mr Quinn said, clarifying that that means people who describe themselves as Christian but don’t practice.
“Instead, society could be divided between those who believe in religion and those who don’t believe, with little in between, that is between the religious and the ‘nones’.
“This seems to be what is happening in both the North and the South. The overall conclusion, however, is that religion is not disappearing, contrary to past predictions,” he said.
The full poll can be found here.
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