Ireland among western Europe’s most religious countries, survey finds

The revelation comes following a new report published by the Catholic bishops.

The Republic of Ireland was found to have just 32 percent of adults reporting they had no religion, equal to Austria.

Italy and Portugal were the only western countries with lower rates.

The 16-to-29-year-old age bracket in Ireland has a higher rate of non-religious reports at 42 percent.

These figures come following a new report published by Catholic Bishops, entitled Turning the Tide? Recent religious trends on the island of Ireland.

The aim of the report is to provide 'a clear evidence-based account of recent religious trends on the island of Ireland'.

Additionally, the report found that Irish Catholic adults rank seventh among 28 European countries when it comes to regular Mass attendance (defined as once a week).

It was further reported that generally, women are more religious than men, however in the Republic, women and men are found to be equally or similarly religious.

This finding comes despite the report outlining that 74 percent of Irish Catholic women believe the Church does not treat them with 'a lot of respect'.

Northern Ireland was found to be 'by a very long distance, the most religiously affiliating region' with just under 25 percent saying they have no religion.

Furthermore, Catholics in Northern Ireland also stood out when it came to Mass attendance, with over 40 percent saying they go to Mass 'weekly or more'.