Ah you're a Catholic!

[Appleday11]

I moved to England to work last year. I'm Irish.

When I arrived at my workplace, one of my colleagues said "Ah you are Irish, this is a nice city, there is a Catholic church down the road that you can go to".

I think she was trying to be helpful but I thought it was quite bizarre. I'm not Catholic and I told her so.

Second time - I was out in the pub with a mixed group of people. Some of them I had never met before. One man said "ah you're Irish, you're a Catholic!" I told him Im not.

Third time- I was at another group. A woman said to me "you are Irish. Ah so you like such and such. And you are a Catholic". I told her I am not.

I found it strange as I have never really thought about religiom. Do some people here think that all Irish people are Catholics? My family were not religious at all and I was never brought up any religion

Is 69 percent a vast majority? I dont think so. Thst is the current percentage of cstholics in Ireland

The UK currently is still a majority Christian country. However the English colleagues thst I work wiith, three of them are Muslim. I know because they are practicing Ramadan

I thought Ireland was famously split into Catholics and protestants so wouldn't assume which background someone was from. I would assume historically your family was either/or though. But wouldn't assume anything about your own religious practice or recommend a church etc. . Weird

if you’re from the Republic of Ireland I’d also assume you’re Catholic tbh but that’s because of Ireland’s history. But now I’ve learned something new

Ireland is very multi cultural. People move to Ireland from everywhere. When I was at school in Ireland my best friend was Portuguese (no religion)

What about all the people that move to Ireland from other countries amd have children there?

your post didn’t sound like you moved to Ireland from another country to be fair

I didn't. Im talking about other people. Lots and lots and lots of people move to Ireland from other countries. It is very, very multicultural.

Can imagine it gets to you for people to make such assumptions about you. If they're interested or want to start a conversation they could just ask you, right? There are lots of stereotypes whirling around.. my example is that I must be into drugs as everyone in Holland is apparently 🤷 Even though most coffee shops in Amsterdam are full of Brits 🤣.
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'Is 69 percent a vast majority? I dont think so. Thst is the current percentage of cstholics in Ireland'

69% is nearly 75% which equates to 3/4, very much a vast majority.

What is the remaining 31% made up of ?

I would guess Church of Ireland, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, Sikhs, Plymouth Brethren and Jehovah's Witnesses ?

I know people can move around, I meant if your family are historically/genetically Irish I'd assume your ancestors fell into either Catholic or Protestant but wouldn't make assumptions about you now in 2026

sure! Ireland has become multicultural in the past 30 years.

I understood your question that you were wondering why people assume that you, a Republic of Ireland native is Catholic. Doesn’t mean that I’d mention religion or point you to the nearest church. I wouldn’t assume that you practise religion.

I’d never think that people who moved to Ireland from abroad are Catholic.

And atheists.

It's a majority yes. I wouldnt describe it as a vast majority, when we are talking about millions of people.

It is a percentage that is also getting lower, every year that it has been checked.

3/4 = 3 in 4 people. that's a lot of Catholic people.

Your colleague is a numpty. Tell her this (remember to include "No offence").

It’s nearer two thirds than three quarters. As to the remainder, it’s quite easy to get census data - you’ve forgotten the next largest group which is what the OP belongs to.

As of the 2022 census, 69.1% of the population in the Republic of Ireland identified as Catholic, while 14.8% reported having no religion. Other religious affiliations included 4.2% Protestant, 2.1% Eastern Orthodox, and smaller percentages for Islam and Hinduism

It still doesnt make everyone a catholic does it?

Current catholics in Ireland are about 3.6 million people out of 5.4 million people.

It is closer to 2/3 than 3/4

Polish are the largest non Irish group in Ireland and 70% of those declared themselves as Catholic in the last census. So there is also the fact that not all Catholics in Ireland are Irish!

the plot thickens 😂

Quite apart from the assumption of being Catholic, what an odd thing to say about the Catholic church! I don't live in London and have never had a conversation about religion. I think you have a strange colleague who may have some issues with Irish/Catholics.

And in people 40 and under it’s down to about a half Catholic, quarter ‘no religion’.

Without causing WW3 on here, you don't have this issue in Scotland. Its certainly never the 1st thing I assume, however jocks are pretty well versed and will ask you if you support Celtic or Rangers instead because there are clearly the only 2 teams Irish and Scottish support 🙄

Its veiled ignorance OP. Just like every gypsy or traveller is Irish.

It seems fashionable about the minute to bring up the catholic / Protestant divide. The English are trying to educate themselves on it. Annoying my phone doesn’t autocorrect catholic with a capital. iPhones must be Protestants.

But they were talking to (I’m assuming from the totality of your posts) a white woman with an Irish accent. The reality is that the vast majority of people born in Ireland to Irish parents 42 years ago would nominally identify as Catholic, even if they’re not really practicing.

My best friend in Ireland is a white woman with an Irish accent .Born in Ireland. Her mother is Irish, her dad is portuguese. She is no religion.

They probably meant “you must be culturally Catholic”? That wouldn’t be an unreasonable assumption. I am culturally Anglican, even though I have zero faith and regard all religions as man-made nonsense. Just because they assumed you were culturally Catholic, that doesn’t mean they assumed you were a believer.

My ancestors were mostly raised in the Church of England (though I also have Catholic Irish ancestors), and I have an affection for the Book of Common Prayer and The King James Bible, but only because the language is so beautiful and because my ancestors heard those words week in and week out for generations. I don’t believe anything that is written in them, and I have no respect or affection for the religion they represent. However, they are part of the canon of English literature, which is kind of the literature of my ‘tribe’.