Christianity was healthily present in Irish society, although there was no room for complacency, Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin claimed yesterday.
He said there were regular surveys about how many people claimed they believed in God, or attended Mass regularly, or which denomination or faith they adhered to. But there was need for more clarity concerning what questions people were really answering when they responded to such a survey.
"As an aside, let me also note that at times the results of such surveys are often interpreted and spun in not the most objective way. For example, if it is said that 60 per cent of Irish people attend regular Sunday Mass, the comments are that numbers are down, that we have fallen behind Poland and that somehow we are on the brink of the end," he said.
"What political party would be gasping for breath if it was told, not only that it had the support of 60 per cent of the population, but that 60 per cent of the population attended cumann meetings every week."
Addressing the MacGill Summer School on the theme of whether Ireland would be Christian in 2030, Dr Martin said that one should begin with the question of whether it was more or less Christian that it was 20, 50, or 100 years ago.
"I believe that we do not really have enough solid research into the nature of the change in religious adherence. As archbishop of Dublin, I am surprised at the superficiality and the anecdotal evidence I am presented with when I ask about concrete pastoral options and about the situation of the faith in Ireland," he added.
Belief was a complex matter and difficult to quantify, he said, adding that people answered questions about it in different ways. "Belief is not identical with church affiliation. There are non-practising Catholics who are genuine believers and there are also many who practise but who may not really believe. I have even seen recently the term 'non-believing priest'," he added.
Dr Martin said the prospect of Ireland being Christian in 2030 depended on how well the church carried out its mission.
Archbishop of Armagh Dr Robin Eames claimed there had been a large-scale failure by all the churches to identify social and economic issues beyond their relevance to denominational doctrine and church teaching.
"I see a failure before the 1960s of a united recognition that what constitutes Christianity is in fact superior to denominational doctrine. I see a failure by the churches, all of them, to step outside the comfortable pew, the protected pulpit or the untouchable sanctuary to ask questions about justice, rights and equality in society," he said.
"While all this was to change, it came about not so much as a pro-active examination of society but as a reaction to events outside the churches which were to change the entire fabric of Irish society in our lifetime."
Ecumenism, said Dr Eames, was born in Ireland once society was dissatisfied with denominational answers and because of a force to be reckoned with when reformed Christianity and Roman Catholic Christianity were forced by circumstances to ask questions of each other and of their communities which in truth they should have asked generations ago. Ireland, said Dr Eames, was becoming a secularised society, and too often churches in their proclamation of denominational Christianity had viewed this trend as a threat rather than an opportunity.
"I have little patience with those who warn churches of the dangers of a secularised society. Today, churches on this island must reach out with a new degree of understanding of secular humankind in Ireland and have a new courage to teach what the fundamentals of the Easter message can hold for a society," Dr Eames added.
"I believe future generations will regard this as one searching for a new vision of what the good life means. This is just as vital in my view for the inheritors of the Celtic Tiger as it is for the disjointed and still violent society of Northern Ireland."
Dr Vincent Twomey, professor of moral theology at Maynooth, said he was not advocating a return to the time when the Catholic church exercised undue political power after Independence, but to a new model that had been developed by communitarian thinkers in the United States. He warned that the recent closure of some churches and of most convents throughout the country must be a cause of concern not only to those responsible for the church but thinking people in general.
John Mark McCafferty, St Vincent de Paul's head of social justice and policy, said a recent attitudes survey concluded that as a people, we were happier but more selfish than before.
"Other current societal issues include increased social isolation, particularly among single people, older people, people with mental health problems; a perceived lack of tolerance toward those who are poor or vulnerable in our society; and environmental pressures."
Mr McCafferty said that despite headline events such as the Special Olympics, there was a slow but continued decline in volunteering for the long haul. Reasons for this were the increase in our work commuting times, particularly among first-time buyers, as well as career and family commitments, which had negatively impacted on work-life balance.