Leaving Roman Catholicism

Abstract

This chapter examines the decline of Roman Catholic practice, belief and affiliation in Ireland, a country long considered Western Europe's secularisation outlier. Existing literature demonstrates that changes in social expectations led to a collapse in devout, embodied religiosity in favour of laissez faire "cultural Catholicism." At the same time, the Church retains significant institutional influence. A series of scandals has acted as a lightning rod for the tensions implicit in this situation, morally contaminating the Church and enabling discourse around the rectitude of Catholic affiliation. Together, these contribute to morally charged secularism focussed on severing the default link between Irish ethnic and religious identity to erode lingering Church influence. Against this background, Irish ex-Catholics do not simply leave the Church; many also depict themselves as repudiating "inauthentic" cultural Catholicism which irresponsibly supports the status quo.