The Irish constitution guarantees freedom of religion and prohibits the promotion of one faith over another. A high proportion of the population hold religious beliefs, with the great majority being Catholic. The proportion of Muslim and Orthodox Christians is also growing.
The Catholic Communications Office says that approximately 60 per cent of Catholics (including those in Northern Ireland) attend Mass once a week and 5 per cent attend Mass once a day.
The Government permits but does not require religious instruction in public schools.
There have been isolated reports of anti-Semitism.
Following the Catholic Church's stance on contraception, contraceptives were banned from 1935 until 1973, but are now widely available. In theory, abortion is legal in Ireland if there is a risk to the life of the woman, but the body that holds medical licences in Ireland considers it malpractice for any doctor to perform an abortion. The laws are only slightly more liberal in Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom) and very few abortions are performed.
Roman Catholic is Ireland's most common religion. After that it is the Church of Ireland.
Catholic.Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion of Ireland.
Catholicism is the main religion in Connacht, which is a province that is found in the west of Ireland.
The "Church of Ireland" is a protestant church.
Christianity
Christianity is the dominant religion in Northern Ireland. Most people in Northern Ireland are members of a Protestant church, such as Presbyterians or Anglicans, who are members of the Church of Ireland.
Catholicism.
Jewish
The largest concentration is in Northern Ireland, although it is present throughout Ireland.
The main religion of Ireland is Catholicism. There are over three million Irish Catholics in the country. The second largest religion is the Church of Ireland.
The original religion for Ireland was catholic but when the British invaded some were converted to the protestant religion. But even now the catholic religion is still the most major in the country.
Ireland is mainly Catholic with Protestantism the 2nd biggest religion.