‘The New Nones’: Implications of Ticking the ‘No Religion’ Census Box for Educators in Ireland

Abstract

In recent decades every census in the Republic of Ireland has given a snapshot of the rising number of people who self-identify under the category of ‘No Religion’. In 2016, one in ten people in Ireland belonged to this group. The manner in which the data is gathered changes over time but the data collected is both fascinating and significant. In 2016 the census question asked ‘What is your religion?’ followed by seven tick box options. This format first appeared in 2002 when ‘No Religion’ was given as the final tick box option in the Religion section. Prior to this people simply wrote their non-religious beliefs in the box provided for religion. For example, under the category of ‘Religion’ in the 1991 Census results, 320 people self-described as ‘Atheist’, 823 as ‘Agnostic’, and 66,270 people described themselves as having ‘No Religion’. Between 1991 and 2016 this number increased seven- fold and currently represents the fastest growing category in the Religion section in the 2016 Census. At the outset it is important to acknowledge that in Census data terms, Ireland has a very high rate of religious affiliation. In the most recent 2016 census, 78 per cent self-identified as Catholic with a further 8 per cent identifying as other Christian denominations and minority faiths. Although the ‘nones’ represent ten per cent of the entire population,3 there is surprising little sustained research into the composition of this group in Ireland, what they believe and what they reveal about identity and culture. Further, understanding this group provides a unique opportunity to explore the complex causal factors, manifestations and consequences of an unprecedented growth of non-religious worldviews in recent decades.