Celtic Cross in Ireland

Catholicism and Traditional Values of Ireland


- Home Page

- A Brief History

- Traditional Values and Catholicism

-Women's Issues

-Men's Issues

-Child Care Policies

-External Links


-Bibliography

-Other Countries

What are the traditional values in Ireland?

Irish political and social institutions are heavily influenced by the ideals of Catholic morality, promoting conservative beliefs and a patriarchal family structure...

- In 1986, approximately 95% of the population of the Republic of Ireland identified themselves as Roman Catholic.

- According to the 2002 census of the Republic of Ireland, 88.4% of the population was identified as Roman Catholic.

Due to the homogeneity of the religious beliefs held by Irish people, Irish laws reflect the values set forth in such Roman Catholic documents as the Ten Commandments and the Bible....

How do Catholicism and tradition affect Work-Family issues in Ireland?

The restrictiveness that Catholic morals place on marriage and family planning rights is major contributor to why women’s participation in the labor force historically has been so low and also why patriarchal family structure is commonplace in Irish society.

Married women in Ireland are particularly constrained by the traditional and restrictive gender roles of the patriarchal ideal.

Traditional conservative beliefs reinforce the supremacy of men and the subordination of women in family and social structures. This belief system makes division of labor heavily gendered and cultivates a societal ideal that it is inappropriate for women to join the workforce and that men should be the primary breadwinners for their wives and children.

Important family issues such as Divorce and Abortion are also heavily influenced by the ideals of Roman Catholicism and conservatism.

 

How does Irish law reflect these values?

Prohibition of Abortion

Because Catholics considered abortion murder, Irish laws treat abortion not only as a sin, but as punishable by law.

  • 1861 the Offenses Against the Persons Act
    •  In 1861 the Offenses Against the Persons Act prohibited Abortion and set strict penalty to anyone assisting a woman in the termination of a pregnancy.

    • In 1930 Pope Pius made a speech regarding abortion and said that abortion was against God and the laws of nature, stating the Ten Commandments state clearly that “Thou shalt not kill.”

  • 1983 Amendment of the Constitution
    • Strict prohibition of abortion is loosened but still heavily regulated and very controversial.
  • 1992 Abortion ban lifted

Abortion is still a hot button issue in Ireland today. To see a complete detailed timeline of abortion issues in Ireland visit the Irish Family Planning Associations website - http://www.ifpa.ie/abortion/hist.html.

 

Prohibitions and Restrictions on Divorce

According to the Roman Catholic Church, Marriage is to be treated as a lifelong commitment and a sacred vow, therefore Irish Laws ban divorce as a reflection of this belief...

  • Article 41 of the Irish Constitution of 1937 states that no court should provide the grant of dissolution of marriage.
  • 1995 Divorce is legalized but heavily restricted.

To see a complete breakdown of how Irish Laws on divorce have shifted over the past century visit http://www.ucc.ie/law/irishlaw/constitution/divorce/divorce1.shtml

 

Regulations on Women’s Participation in Workforce

Roman Catholic values place heavy emphasis on traditionalism and conservative beliefs. The patriarchal traditions held by not only the poeple of Ireland, but also by Irish law, emphasize the belief that the man should enter the public labor force, while the woman's utmost important duty is to provide care for the home and her family...

  • Ireland has the lowest rate of women in the paid labor force, because women are not only encouraged to stay home and raise a family, but as recently as the 1970s were still restricted from working after they married. 
  • In 1980, the Pope gave a speech at Limerick telling females “not to listen to those who tell them that working at a secular job, succeeding in a secular profession is more important than the vocation of giving life and caring for life as a mother” (Wills 37). 
  • According to the Constitution of Ireland (1937), the state not only “recognizes that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved” (Nicholls 2006:526). 
  • It was not until Ireland joined the European Economic Community in 1973, that policies like the marriage bar were reviewed and dismissed (Nicholls 2006).

To find out more information about Women’s involvement with the labor force in Ireland please visit the “Women’s Issues” section of this website.

 

 

How are things changing?

There has been a shift in labor force participation, marital laws and overall trends and behaviors in Irish society over the past 3 decades.

 In the European Values Study from 1999-2000, a shift in the strength of religious affiliation was uncovered. The statistical findings from this study noted trends that “age and gender emerged as significant predictors of religious belief, with males and the young being significantly less likely to accept the main tenets of the Christian faith than either females or the old” (Fahey, Hayes, and Sinnot 2006:54).

The conservatism of the Irish society and the influence of traditional religious ideals contribute to lack of progressive movement towards gender equality regarding how work and family issues intersect in Irish culture, but times are changing....  
          Irish flag in the sky
 

Sources:

    Galligan, Yvonne. 1998. "The Changing Role of Women." Pp. 107-121 in Ireland and the Politics of Change,

            edited by W. Crotty and D.E. Schmitt. New York: Addison Wesley Longman Limited.

    Fahey, Tony, Bernadette C. Hayes and Richard Sinnot. 2006. "Religion." Pp. 30-56 in Conflict and

            Consensus: A study of values and attitudes in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland" Work,

            Subjective well-being and Social Capital."

    Nicholls, Kate. 2006. “Why social partnership matters: Irish policies for work – life balance.”

            West European Politics 29(3):513-539.

    Wills, Clair. 2001. “Women, Domesticity and the Family: Recent Feminist Work in Irish Cultural Studies.”  

            Cultural Studies. 15(1):33-57.

    Images courtesy of www.Flickr.com