A Critical Sociological Account of the Role of Religion in Contemporary Irish Society - Term Paper Example

A Critical Sociological Account of the Role of Religion in Contemporary Irish Society Name Institutional Affiliation Date Abstract Religion is customary to all cultures. For a long time, religion contributes to the society by playing various social roles. Some communities can even be described as religious because of the adoption of a single or related religious outlook in social norms, beliefs, and values. The traditional Irish society is one such social amalgamation in which religion defines the day-to-day way of living. This essay will give a critical sociological account on the role of religion in the contemporary Irish society. It will begin by giving an overview of religion(s) in the Ireland society, and this will be followed by sub-topics relating to interaction of the society with religious themes. The research will draw on academic data retrieved from peer reviewed journals, articles, and books with content relevant to the topic. The aim is to draw out the relationship between religion and social life in Ireland with the intent of finding out the role that religion plays in this society. Religion in Ireland Religion is recognized on the basis of theology, faith, and culture (Doyle &Gallagher, 2006). Clifford Geertz an anthropologist defined religion as an ideology of symbols which act to put a powerful, pervasive, and eternal moods and motivations in humans by establishing conceptions of a particular order of existence and clothing these concepts with a factual aura such that the moods and motivations are perceived as realistic in a unique way (Bruce, 1995). Christianity is the predominant religion in Ireland, with Roman Catholic being the largest sub-sect in both the Republic and Northern Ireland. About 84.2 percent of the Republic of Ireland population identified as Roman Catholic in 2011. This is because initially, the 1936 Constitution was made in such a way that it guaranteed the Catholic Church a herald position as the one for the majority although there is freedom of religion for other denominations. Notable religions from the Protestant sub-sects include The Church of Ireland (Anglican), The Presbyterian Church, and The Methodist Church. Actually, many people assume Ireland to be a Catholic country, and although Catholics are the largest group, this assumption is not referenced in the Constitution (Whelan, 1994) The contemporary Irish society has faced an increase in other religious denominations including Muslim, Jewish, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Hindu as a result of intensity in immigration in the current global environment (Whelan, 1994). Also, as a result of increased secularization in the present, the country has also seen an increased number of people describing themselves as agnostics and atheists. Ways in which religion may be seen to have a unique position in the Irish society Religion usually has several various aspects from personal spiritual beliefs to institutional structures such as hospitals and schools, and even to the extent of religious groups to influence the legislation of a land (Doyle &Gallagher, 2006). There is religion reference in the Ireland Constitution which emphasizes that the terminologies “In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from whom all authority and to whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and states must be referred” (Billings, 2004, p.15). When the ecumenical movement gained significance in Ireland, it led to an alternative to denominational attitudes, and this led to mainstream Christianity being partly endorsed by Ireland’s 1944 Education Act. Some of the Act’s provisions included that every school day begins with a parade and an act of worship in which religious instruction is provided in accordance to an already agreed syllabus made available to all pupils. However, the Act did not avail provisions for other religion traditions, although it also did not specify the form of instruction or worship. The perpetual effect of the Act was to weaken the attachment of mainstream Christianity to the British society. It was believed that non-denominational teaching and worship would become sensible when co-related with more specific Church teaching that it believed children would have. However, this belief did not come through; instead the education in Ireland came to be affected differently as the Catholic religious beliefs became dominant while the Protestant became minority. For many people born and/or living in Ireland, religion has been synonymous with learning Christian theology and history, largely in educational institutions beginning from elementary schools to third-level colleges which affiliate to the Christian/Catholic ethos (Bruce, 1995). Other religions such as Protestantism and Islam would be included through inter-faith dialogue or ecumenism but only when being related to the main religion’s theological perspective. Many educational institutions in Ireland synchronize religious studies in their intakes through a confessional approach where one is required to attach a religious affirmation in form of a baptismal certificate, or prove to have subscribed to a certain religious ethos, and this is applied to both the students and staff (Whelan, 1994). The wider majority of Irish schools and colleges for training teachers as well as theology departments have outwardly confessional affiliations which make a deeper attachment to religion possible. Religious groups in Ireland have worked closely with the government and other institutions in providing social amenities to the people (Doyle &Gallagher, 2006). For example, the Catholic Church is involved in the provision of education and health services. Most of the churches also cooperate with the State agencies in matters of education and welfare, for instance the Church of Ireland in Northern Ireland (Doyle &Gallagher, 2006). The Presbyterian Church has promoted issues of gender, by supporting the role and contribution of women in the society through ordaining women since the early 1950s. The Methodist Church has established a wide array of social work activities and education through its missions in the larger cities of the country. Religion also played a role in establishment of nationalism to which the Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland came about (Darby, 1976). There was a period of unrest from cultural conflicts. Although Catholic religion is dominant in both Northern and Republic of Ireland, most of the Protestants are found in the north of the country (Darby, 1976). Religion in the contemporary society In the traditional or pre-enlightenment sense, religion remained strong bound within the society because its teachings rarely got question with the belief that they have come direct from a Supernatural being or God (Whelan, 1994). However, modernity came with implicit understandings of the absolute powers of logic which put the conventional understanding of theological truth allegations into the spotlight. As more societies delve deeper into modernity and secularization, and so do their cultural influence on theology and religion become diminished. The word secularization, mostly used in contemporary settings has come to be associated with the declining impact of religion in the society. Bruce (1995) cited Berger (1970) in the assertion that modernization and urbanization lead to social fragmentation leading to a plurality of both cultural and religious groups. The monopoly that was once enjoyed by one group therefore faces its end (Bruce, 1995). Doyle & Gallagher (2006) contends that in order to establish sense of the process of religion in industrialized or modern societies, it is important to pay attention to the specific cultural and historical motives that relate to a specific society. For example, in Northern Ireland, religion remains in the public platform as a source of dispute that is linked to issues of national identity. This explains why Ireland, unlike majority of other modernized countries, still has a large affiliation to conventional religious influence. On the other hand, many European societies have been affected with the contemporary situation. Overall in Europe, many young people of today would neither recognize nor attach importance to the religious symbols. However, the situation is different in Ireland (O’Leary, 2001). Religion in contemporary Ireland The Irish society too has been affected by the contemporary situation of modernization and secularization (O’Leary, 2001). However, religion still plays a strong role in the politics and day-to-day life of the contemporary Irish society. Comparing with current European standards, church attendance is still relatively high as about sixty percent of the population attends church, although this is a reduction from twenty five percent in two decades ago. A survey conducted revealed that the confidence in the church is diminishing and that a generation of people that are not very connected to the church is emerging (O’Leary, 2001). The difference is the period of time that modernization has taken to affect the role of religion. In most modern societies, this weakening from religious norms has been experienced for over three hundred years while it has taken Ireland only three decades or less (O’Leary, 2001). Historically, the Republic of Ireland has been much at the bosom of the church and state. The state’s refusal to confront the church has contributed to lesser questioning of its ways and hence the persistence in religion. Nevertheless, the strong attachment to religion is also fading in contemporary Ireland. The 2006 census that had been conducted at an earlier period established that ninety percent of people in Ireland identified as Catholics (O’Leary, 2001). However, a Europoll survey conducted some time later showed that only seventy two people believed that there is God (O’Leary, 2001). This suggests that almost a quarter of the population don’t believe in the religious ideology of the existence of a god. With these new perceptions, it is therefore valuable to establish the role that religion plays in the current society. Role of Religion in modern Ireland One of the consistent elements in the role of religion in the society is observance of the religion itself. The church often acts as the centre of the community where people meet at least on a weekly basis for observance of religious rituals. The Catholic Church holds masses at various scheduled times but members can also attends other rituals such as the Benediction, and retreats for spiritual revival. Other attendance includes the Corpus Christi processions which were began as a way to meet people in the community, as well as simply being an entertainment in itself. Other activities such as the bazaars, concerts, and fetes were often held as fund-raisers mostly for charitable institutions which were run by both the Catholic and Protestant churches. Therefore, then church is responsible for creating and ensuring the continuance of vibrant social activity in the society. For majority of people in contemporary Ireland, a church is a place to be attended on special occasions (O’Leary, 2001). Such occasions include christening or baptism of children, marriage ceremonies, and funeral occasions. Most people are avoiding attending church when such occasions are not taking place. Religion is also a way to national identity (White, 2000). Being Catholic or Protestant is more of a cultural statement than a religious one in Ireland. Outside observers often misunderstand this aspect and believe the Ireland population to be entirely guided by religious motives. For instance, the long withstanding conflict in Northern Ireland has always been looked at as a religious war while in a realistic way to the Irish perspective; it was a conflict involving communities with diverse cultures and histories (White, 2000). Religion also defines some of the values of the Irish society as tolerant. According to Brewer (2005) there is high religious tolerance in Ireland, and also great respect for diversity regardless of one’s religious beliefs. Discrimination based on religion is almost negligible. Religion has, and still plays a great role in education in Ireland (Doyle & Gallagher, 2006). As much as the constitution does not detect which religion has to be above others, it is impossible to verify this aspect when looking at the state education system. Ireland has established a system of free state-funded elementary schools referred to as the National schools, but of which are typically Catholic schools. These schools allow the attendance of students from any religion, but the boards that govern them are chaired by the local parish Bishop and the curriculum is centrally based on the teachings of the Catholic Church. Those who prefer to attend a school where an alternative religion is taught, or a non-denominational/interdenominational one can recruit in privately run schools but they do not receive the free state-funding. At secondary school level, while the largest majority of educational institutions are state-funded, they are run by religious executives and have dogma-based ethos. However, as time goes by, some are turning over the day-to-day management to lay trusts. The church is dominant in providing education, but in spite of this, an emerging statistics reveals that ninety two percent of those who leave schools prior to finishing their secondary education are Catholic, while two percent claim they do not affiliate to any religion. Eighty six percent of those who finish a third level degree are Catholic, while six percent do not conform to any religion. Religion guarantees moral and consequently social stability and majority of people seem to need it to get through with life (Billings, 2004). In the traditional Ireland society, the rural side was largely centred on the religious rituals which were part of the day-to-day existence. Religion gives the gleam of spirituality in lives which are viewed as hard and very basic. However, in the modern era, the same religion has borne liberal-minded Catholics or church goers who were faithful believers in the past but learned to reserve for themselves the right to be their own judges on some matters. Religion in the contemporary society has awakened the need for critical validation of issues taking place in the society (Harris & Fallon, 2011). Traditionally, the clergy was held with unquestioning reverence and could not be brought to answer to suspected scandals but this is changing now. Some individual religious orders and the church in general have made strenuous efforts to hide from the revelation of the scandals that had been taking place unquestioned in churches (Harris & Fallon, 2011). Some of the scandals that have been associated with the church or clergy in Ireland include child sexual abuse and molestation, financial impropriety, physical and mental punishment, and slavery and mistreatment of women. Some have even taken measures to protect their finances and image in the slew of court cases. This has led to people becoming critical of the religious dogma and has led to majority of people starting to distance from the church. Religion is a basis of artistic and intellectual activity even in modern Ireland as it can provide themes for the artistic and intellectual creations (Harris & Fallon, 2011). Even Irish writers who have emerged as cosmopolitan in outlook and seem to be under the influence of the French models and Russians, their subject matter and social thinking were strongly regional to the Dublin culture (Harris & Fallon, 2011). Examples include Sean O’Tuama, an academic scholar and poet, Seamus Murphy, a sculptor, and Sean O’ Riordain, a poet (Harris & Fallon, 2011). This identification with the way of life of the Ireland has enabled the country to have richer cultural values. Religion has influenced the present values and activities that are held in the Ireland society (Whelan, 1994), for example, social welfare and charity events for the less fortunate members of the society. Various voluntary charitable institutions were set up and are still set up today to look after the disadvantaged members of the society, such as the poor, the sick, the old, and the widowed among others. Ireland was and is still a society which provides social welfare. Religious orders of the time began the trend by establishing several orphanages as well as other charitable institutions which enabled many people to benefit from these establishments. In summary, this critical review of the role of religion in contemporary Ireland finds that, religion played a much greater role in the Irish society in 1904, than it does today. The birth of nationalism in which Ireland is distinct by Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland resulted from religious conflicts. Religion has also played a great role in establishment and control of education and social welfare systems. Religion is also synonymous with an Irish cultural identity. Even as the role of religion is increasingly diminishing in majority of the modern societies, Ireland’s modern society still holds some special significance to the dogma. Liberal thinkers still attend church but make their own judgements on issues. Majority of the population require the church to be present in the celebration of important life passages such as birth, matrimony, and death. The church is regarded as a foundation for setting up social welfare as known today. The church influenced a lot of ongoing events in the society in various dimensions including political, and economical. In the modern day, the commitment of people to the church is diminishing, but religion in Ireland will always be seen as the focal point from which today’s social institutions and values were established. References: Billings, A. (2004). Secular lives, sacred hearts. UK: SPCK Brewer, J.D. (2005). Ensuring equality of religion and belief in Northern Ireland: New challenges Public lecture to the ESRC/Northern Ireland Equality Commission joint seminar. Bruce, S. (1995). Religion in the modern world. London: Routledge. Darby, S. (1976). Conflict in Northern Ireland: The development of a polarized community Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. Doyle, J., & Gallagher, C. (2006). In a changing Ireland, has social care practice left religious and spiritual values behind?” Dublin: Proceedings of Seminar Harris, M., & Fallon, B. (2011). “Ireland: Culture and religion, 1912-49”, Multitext Project in Irish History, Retrieved April 25 from http://multitext.ucc.ie/d/Ireland_culture__religion_1912-49 . O’Leary, R. (2001). “Modernization and inter-religious marriage in the Republic of Ireland”, The British Journal of Sociology 52(4), 647. Whelan, C., T. (1994). "Religious and moral values," pp. 7-44 in Christopher T. Whelan (ed), Values and Social Change. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. White, T. (2000) Celts, conquest, and conflicting identities in Ireland. Ireland: Celtic Cultural Studies . Read More