Sir, – It is good to see at least some change to the religion question in the 2022 census. People are now asked “What is your religion, if any?” and “No religion” is no longer bottom of the list.
The CSO says the question is about your beliefs at the time of the census, and so a number of current campaigns are asking people to tick “No religion” if you do not currently practise any religion.
Why does this matter? Census results on religion are often cited to justify continuing religious influence over public services, such as education and health, even though the results from the religion question may not be reliable for a number of reasons.
First, you cannot extrapolate to say that even those who do still practise a religion want public services to reflect their beliefs – for example, successive polls find that a majority no longer want denominational schools and many religious parents choose multidenominational schools. We also know that Irish citizens have voted overwhelmingly in referendums in support of changes that would not be in line with religious beliefs. Second, the form says that “the householder or any adult member of the household present on census night” should complete it. This means that what is likely to be an older cohort is completing census forms on behalf of all household members, with no obligation or instruction to ensure they are asking each individual what they want recorded about their beliefs.
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Until the CSO requires every adult in a household to complete their own section and sign it to this effect, with enumerators instructed to explain this, and the religion question asks “What is your current religion, if any”, census results will come nowhere near accurately reflecting the current religious beliefs of Irish citizens and we will continue to have State-funded services that do not meet the needs of a large sector of the population. – Yours, etc,
MICHELLE ROGERS,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.