Church weddings indecline
LOUTH couples are, it seems, falling out of love with the traditional Catholic church wedding, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO)
The CSO Marriage Statistics 2018 revealed the growing religious diversity in Irish society.
In Louth, the majority of couples opting for a ceremony will choose a Catholic church. A total of 52.9% walked own the aisle in 2018.
But these numbers have shown a gradual decline in recent years, with almost 55% opting for a Catholic ceremony in 2015.
The decline is even more obvious, when census data from 1980 revealed that over 96.2% of couples married in Catholic ceremonies..
In contrast, the numbers choosing alternative ceremonies has continued to rise.
The CSO figures revealed that the number of Louth couples deciding on a ‘ Humanist’ ceremony has increased by almost 60% since 2015.
In 2018, there were 43 Humanist ceremonies registered, and a further 38 choosing to celebrate their marriage with a ‘Spiritualist Union of Ireland’ ceremony.
There were also 136 civil ceremonies registered in Louth last year. Ten same sex marriages recorded, seven of which were male partners, and three female to female partners.
Louth men were on average waiting until they were 36.7 years old to get married, with Louth women waiting until they were around 34 years old before tying the knot.
The number of couples choosing a Catholic Church religious ceremony across the country has shown an even greater decline, with the national average 47.6%.
Speaking on the release of the CSO Marriage Statistics 2018, Education Equality Chairperson April Duff noted: ‘For the first time ever, less than half of couples (nationally) chose a Catholic marriage ceremony in 2018. This marks a significant watershed and clearly illustrates the growing number of non-religious families in Ireland.
‘ Today, more than ever, it should be clear to us all that there is a widening disconnect between our denominational school system and the actual beliefs of young families.’
Policy Officer Paddy Monahan added:
‘Non-religious marriages will eclipse Catholic marriages in popularity by 2020. These figures raise important questions as to where the children born to these couples will go to school, and how schools devoting at least half an hour a day to religious indoctrination can respect the children from families who do not consent to their children receiving this instruction.
‘ The current system, where 96% of schools are under the control of religious bodies and operate a religious-integrated curriculum with no effective opt-out, is clearly at odds with the diversity of our society that these statistics demonstrate.’