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Catholic World News News Feature

Irish survey shows religious ignorance-- especially among youth April 20, 2007

Irish residents showed a remarkable lack of basic knowledge about the Catholic faith in a recent national poll, the Iona Institute reports.

The most striking ignorance was displayed by respondents between the ages of 19 and 24, who consistently scored well below the general population in the survey, conducted by the Lansdowne market research firm.

Respondents over the age of 65 yielded above-average results on the poll, suggesting that the level of religious education in Ireland was significantly better in earlier years.

A minority of respondents between 19 and 24 could name the three Persons of the Trinity. Just 47% of the young people answered that question correctly, while 76% of those over 64% gave the proper answer, and 66% of the overall poll sample.

Similarly, only 38% of the young respondents could provide the number of Gospels in the New Testament, and another 38% could give the number of Catholic sacraments. Among those over 65 years old, 65% answered the former question correctly, and 63% the latter question.