Declining birth rates lead to big drop in Irish baptisms

A briefing note from the Iona Institute, a Christian advocacy and research body, said falling birth rates and the rise of secularism are the two driving causes of the decline, with the drop in births accounting for approximately 60 per cent of the decrease.

In the 10-year period that the research looks at, it was also shown that births in the Republic of Ireland have fallen by 19.9 per cent, and 21.3 per cent in Northern Ireland. The report said the “biggest part of the decline [in baptisms] is accounted for by a fall in the number of births overall”.

“However, the effect of secularisation has been very significant. . . . The number of people who says they belong to no religion (the so-called ‘nones’) has been rising fast,” it added.

“In a way the figures are not a surprise given the rapidly falling number of births and growing secularisation,” said Dr Tom Finegan, chairman of the Iona Institute.

However, Dr Finegan noted that “cultural Catholicism” remains strong in Ireland.

“We see that as at census 2022, 67.9 per cent of mothers with children aged 0-4 still identified as Catholic, even though a big majority of these would not be regular Mass-goers,” Dr Finegan said.

“It remains to be seen whether cultural Catholicism will remain a force in Irish life. It’s worth noting that in Britain in 2023, according to the Vatican yearbook, over 42,000 Catholic children were baptised, even though levels of Mass-attendance in Britain are low,” Dr Finegan said.

Ireland’s fertility rate is now 1.5, well below the replacement level of 2.1.

“This should be of concern to everyone, regardless of religious belief,” Dr Finegan said.

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Irish baptisms fall by 30 percent over ten years (CruxNow)