Only one-third of Irish students say that they believe in God, with 83.5% saying abortion should be allowed in Ireland.The survey of 1,146 students showed that 57.8% of respondents considered themselves Catholic, another 20% Atheist.
This contrasts with the most recent census, where 84.16% of the country said they were Catholic.
Conversely, 2.81% of those questioned described themselves as Church of Ireland in the census, a figure not wholly dissimilar from the 2.2% of students who said they were Church of Ireland or Protestant.
Colman Byrne, managing director of Student Marketing Network and oxygen.ie said: “The survey brought up a lot of interesting information that people may have different views on but it certainly shows that there is a major disconnect between organised religion and young people in Ireland.”
The survey also showed that while 61.5% of the Catholic students take Communion at Mass only 32.2% of them believe it’s the body and blood of Christ.
When asked why students aren’t religious, 77.8% said they “don’t believe in the teachings” and 40% said they don’t want their children to follow the same religion they were brought up with.
But despite students’ disdain for Catholicism, 41% admitted to praying when they need something or are facing an exam or job interview. Only 11.7% said that they follow religious teachings in everyday life.