ECM International

Spiritual Climate

Shortly after the partition of Ireland in 1922 into north and south, the protestant population, a considerable proportion of whom would have been evangelical, declined from 20% to 3%, through emigration.

This left a very monochrome Catholic culture, where effectively to be Irish was to be Catholic. Most schools and hospitals were started by the Church but with the decline of religious personnel that influence is decreasing, though still evident. Much of Irish life is centered around the local parish church. The very large families are gone now, but it is not unusual to see families with four or more children. Communities are bound tightly together particularly in rural areas.

Fifty percent of the population still attend church, but this has declined from the 90% of the 1980s. Over half the population is under 28. Once monks and nuns were seen everywhere in Ireland, but the numbers in the Religious Orders have declined dramatically. Whereas Irish politicians once regularly consulted the Bishops over social legislation, it rarely happens today. A series of scandals - child abuse by clergy and Religious Orders from the 50s onwards - have been exposed by the media over the last decade. Nevertheless when the bones of St Therese of Lisieux visited Ireland in 2001, almost the whole population went to touch them. Until the early 1990s many Irish young people emigrated on finishing their education to find work in the UK and USA. The mid -1990s saw an economic boom, and as a result Ireland is now looking outside its shores for workers. More recently immigrants and asylum seekers from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe have exposed the Irish to people of very different customs and faiths.

Efforts were made in the 1960s to circulate Scriptures. Many later heard something of the gospel through Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the 1970s. Baptist, Pentecostal and Brethren churches have advanced. There has been some renewal within the protestant denominations - Church of Ireland, Methodist and Presbyterian. From the late 1970s a steady stream of missionaries has come from Northern Ireland, Britain and North America.

So, over recent years, people have found Christ as Saviour and small churches have emerged. The churches are small - many less than 50 members - and sometimes without trained or paid leadership. Many areas of Ireland have yet to see a witness to the gospel in their locality. Believers feel very much in the minority. The call comes again: " Come over... and help us…" (Acts 16. 9)

Despite the minority status of believers, figures provided by the Evangelical Alliance in Ireland provide much encouragement. In early 2006, following research in different parts of the country, statistics revealed that the number of evangelical congregations in Ireland had grown from less than 150 in 1980 to over 400 in 2005.