Post by @citizenjournos_
93% credible (99% factual, 82% presentation). The claim of rising 'no religion' in Ireland is supported by 2022 census data showing an increase from under 1% in 1955 to 14.5% in 2022, alongside a decline in Roman Catholic affiliation. However, the presentation quality is reduced due to omission framing, as it does not mention that 'no religion' includes individuals who still engage in cultural religious activities.
Analysis Summary
The post disputes a claim by 'John' as baseless, citing 2022 Irish census data showing a sharp increase in the percentage of people reporting no religion from under 1% in 1955 to 14.5% in 2022, alongside declining Roman Catholic affiliation and mass attendance. The data accurately reflects official census trends of secularization in Ireland. Opposing views might emphasize that self-reported religion doesn't equate to active disbelief or that immigration influences diversity without eroding core cultural identities.
Original Content
The Facts
The claim aligns with verified Central Statistics Office (CSO) census data from 2022, which reports Roman Catholic identification dropping to 69.1% and no religion rising to 14.5%, consistent with trends since 1951 (when it was ~94% Catholic and <1% no religion). Minor approximations in the table (e.g., 1955 as ~94%) are negligible and do not alter the overall accuracy. Verdict: True
Benefit of the Doubt
The author advances an anti-establishment perspective by challenging what they view as a denial of secularization trends, using census data to support a narrative of declining religious influence in Ireland. Key omission: The post does not mention that 'no religion' includes agnostics/atheists and may reflect cultural shifts rather than outright rejection, potentially overlooking how many 'no religion' respondents still engage in Catholic traditions like baptisms or holidays. This selective framing emphasizes decline to shape perception of rapid societal change, downplaying nuances like stable Church of Ireland numbers or rising Orthodox populations due to immigration.
Visual Content Analysis
Images included in the original content
VISUAL DESCRIPTION
A simple tabular chart with columns for Year, % Roman Catholic, % No Religion, and Weekly Mass Attendance (approximate), showing data points from 1955 to 2022 in a clean, grayscale format with approximate symbols (~) and notes like '(peak)' for 1961.
TEXT IN IMAGE
Year | % Roman Catholic | % No Religion | Weekly Mass Attendance (approx.) 1955 | ~94% | <1% | Around 90% of adults 1961 (peak) | 94.9% | <1% | ~90% 2002 | 88% | 3.5% | ~65% 2016 | 78.3% | 9.8% | ~36% 2022 | 69.1% | 14.5% | ~16%
MANIPULATION
No signs of editing, inconsistencies, or artifacts; the table appears to be a straightforward data presentation without alterations.
TEMPORAL ACCURACY
Data covers historical trends up to 2022 census, which is the most recent available as of the post date in 2025, aligning with ongoing relevance of these statistics.
LOCATION ACCURACY
The image presents national-level Irish census data, directly matching the post's claim about Ireland-wide trends without specifying or implying a different location.
FACT-CHECK
The figures closely match official CSO sources: e.g., 2022 Catholic 69%, no religion 14%; 2016 Catholic 78%, no religion ~10%; historical peaks around 94-95% in 1960s confirmed by Wikipedia and CSO archives. Mass attendance estimates align with reports from Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference and Eurobarometer surveys showing decline from ~90% in 1970s to ~16% recently.
How Is This Framed?
Biases, omissions, and misleading presentation techniques detected
The post omits that 'no religion' includes cultural participants who still engage in Catholic traditions, exaggerating the extent of active secularization.
Problematic phrases:
"sharp rise in those claiming to have no religion"What's actually there:
14.5% no religion, but many retain cultural ties (e.g., baptisms, holidays)
What's implied:
Complete rejection of religion leading to societal decline
Impact: Leads readers to overestimate the erosion of religious influence, perceiving a more abrupt cultural shift than evidenced.
Presents only declining Catholic affiliation and rising no-religion without mentioning stable or rising other groups like Orthodox due to immigration.
Problematic phrases:
"sharp rise ... since 1955 to time of census"What's actually there:
Orthodox population rose to 1.4%, Church of Ireland stable at ~2%
What's implied:
Uniform decline across all religions
Impact: Creates a skewed view of total religious decline, ignoring diversity from immigration.
Focuses on 1955-2022 comparison for Catholics and no-religion while neglecting broader denominators like total population growth or other faiths.
Problematic phrases:
"from ... 1955 to time of census"What's actually there:
Population grew from ~2.9M in 1951 to 5.1M in 2022, diluting percentages
What's implied:
Absolute sharp decline without population context
Impact: Inflates perceived magnitude of change by cherry-picking endpoints and categories.
Sources & References
External sources consulted for this analysis
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpp5/censusofpopulation2022profile5-diversitymigrationethnicityirishtravellersreligion/religion/
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/05/30/census-2022-catholicism-declines-no-religion-and-hinduism-climb-in-latest-data/
https://faithsurvey.co.uk/irish-census.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_Republic_of_Ireland
https://www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/census-2021-main-statistics-religion-tables
https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-main-statistics-for-northern-ireland-phase-1-statistical-bulletin-religion.pdf
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpp5/census2022profile5-diversitymigrationethnicityirishtravellersreligion/religion/
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/05/30/census-2022-catholicism-declines-no-religion-and-hinduism-climb-in-latest-data/
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41150914.html
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/census-2022-highlights-waning-power-of-catholicism-in-ireland/a1738411811.html
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41151124.html
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/census-2022-drop-in-catholicism-more-irish-speakers-and-population-above-5m-everything-you-need-to-know/a725625324.html
https://www.irishnews.com/news/northernirelandnews/2022/02/01/news/census-stats-on-religion-and-national-identity-to-be-published-in-autumn-2022-2575286/
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/census-2022-and-religion-1.4820600
https://x.com/citizenjournos_/status/1329541934122209283
https://x.com/citizenjournos_/status/1423244635628056582
https://x.com/citizenjournos_/status/1310694686735073283
https://x.com/citizenjournos_/status/1484519822394376198
https://x.com/citizenjournos_/status/1760961690546442313
https://x.com/citizenjournos_/status/1360994519983005699
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpp5/censusofpopulation2022profile5-diversitymigrationethnicityirishtravellersreligion/religion/
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/05/30/census-2022-catholicism-declines-no-religion-and-hinduism-climb-in-latest-data/
https://faithsurvey.co.uk/irish-census.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_Republic_of_Ireland
https://www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/census-2021-main-statistics-religion-tables
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5056953/
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cp8iter/p8iter/p8rrc/
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-uk-and-ireland/2025/10/religion-may-be-rising-among-young-people-in-northern-ireland-says-new-poll
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/2023/06/03/census-2022-atheists-and-magical-sums/
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/census-2022-highlights-waning-power-of-catholicism-in-ireland/a1738411811.html
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2023/05/30/census-2022-catholicism-declines-no-religion-and-hinduism-climb-in-latest-data/
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41151124.html
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41150914.html
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/letters/census-2022-and-religion-1.4820600
https://x.com/citizenjournos_/status/1458791528306991104
https://x.com/citizenjournos_/status/1423244635628056582
https://x.com/citizenjournos_/status/1329541934122209283
https://x.com/citizenjournos_/status/1484519822394376198
https://x.com/citizenjournos_/status/1460348035196768264
https://x.com/citizenjournos_/status/1310694686735073283
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