Fifty seven per cent of teenagers say religion makes them neither
happy nor unhappy while a further 40% say religion makes them happy;
this is according to a survey of Irish teenagers.
508 young people, aged between 16 and 20, completed an online survey
for the UNICEF Ireland report: Changing the Future: Experiencing Youth
in Contemporary Ireland.
“We have felt for a long time that there is a shortage of primary
research on the lives of young people living in Ireland. Having issued
several reports on the impact of policy decisions taken from secondary
data, we decided it was time to ask young people themselves how they
view their lives, what challenges they face and what is their reality,”
stated UNICEF Ireland Executive Director Melanie Verwoerd in her
introduction to the report.
In the survey, there were two questions about religion and how it
affects young people’s happiness. Seven options were offered to the
question “What phrase would best describe your religion?”
The majority, some 24%, said “I am not religious,” but 23% said, “I
am religious but do not go to church regularly.” Another 21% said, “I
am spiritual but not religious” and 14% said, “I used to go (to church)
but not so much anymore.” 12% said, “I am religious and go to religious
gatherings.”
The remaining 6% have alternative spiritual interests or none.
The only quote in the religion section of the report states, “I used
to be religious, but after everything that came out about the church and
stuff, I find it hard to believe in God.”
A religious education (RE) teacher, in a multi-faith,
multi-denominational secondary school in Dublin, told ciNews she finds
that the most common reasons younger teenagers give for not going to
Church are they have other things to do like football practice, or
staying in bed or their family does not go.
She stated that anecdotal evidence indicates a continuation of the
trend well documented in previous decades - that people are practising
less (in the traditional way) but are still very spiritual and
religious.
She conducts a simple survey with her students each year,
which shows that there are very high levels of searching and
spirituality and belief.
Those who go to church regularly and practice their faith in the
traditional way are less likely to talk about it because public practice
of faith has changed to something more private.
“People who are religious and practice their faith do not want to
talk about it or admit it because of peer pressure. In our multi-faith
school, you know who the Muslims are maybe, but you don’t always know
who the Catholics are. It might come out that they are regular
churchgoers but they don’t always admit it up front. It is a very
private thing now for a lot of people – it is not as easy to quantify
faith as it used to be.”
In secondary school, religion is an exam subject so teenagers study
various faiths and beliefs.
They are very open to other religions and
want to find out all about them and they express, not just tolerance,
but admiration and respect, according to the teacher.
She added that
one topic young people study is changes in religion over the last 50
years and when asked what has changed, they seldom raise the issue of
clerical child abuse.
They are more animated when it comes to
discussing the effects of communism, consumerism and secularism.
The second question in the UNICEF survey asked, “Does your religion
or spirituality bring you happiness?” and more than half - 57% - said it
makes them neither happy nor unhappy; 27% said, “yes some” and 12%,
“yes lots.”
3% said it makes them unhappy and 2% very unhappy.
This report focuses on happiness and explores general themes around
teenage well-being throughout the country and how they are affected by
the recession and bullying.
97% were aware of the recession, while 93% had experienced less
household money.
One quarter has seen a parent become redundant and 4%
have had to move school because of the recession.
Bullying was a major issue for all teenagers with more than half
experiencing it and 20% suffering from cyber bullying.
Of those who
were bullied, almost all were bullied with words and 43% with actions.
This is the first of four sets of results that will be published this
year - other reports will cover mental health, drink and drugs and
sexual behaviour.