Religion

Christianity is the most common religion in the Republic of Ireland, and the Catholic Church is the largest denomination. The Irish Constitution guarantees religious freedom and forbids the state from endorsing any one faith.

The percentage of Catholics in the population was 78.3% (3.5 million) in the 2016 census, which is 209,220 fewer than it was in 2010, when it was 88%. "No religion" was the next largest category after Catholics. According to the census, 10% of the population did not practice any religion. This was an increase of 73.6% over 2011.

Only 40% of Catholics will attend services in 2022. The Church of Ireland (Anglican), the second-largest Christian denomination, saw a fall in membership during the most of the 20th century, but more recently, as have other smaller Christian churches, it has seen an increase. The Methodist Church in Ireland is the second-largest Protestant denomination in Ireland, after the Presbyterian Church. Orthodox Christianity is the fastest-growing religion in Ireland, with Hinduism and Islam also seeing considerable growth in recent years, primarily as a result of immigration.