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

I'm from NI and have been asked soooo many times in England if I'm Catholic or Protestant. I've started just saying 'why do you ask?' although this meant one colleague said I was deliberately awkward. Never mind that she shouldn't have asked in work.
I've had people say that was a very Irish way of doing something (not a compliment).

It's not just colleagues, I was asked twice by midwives and by random older women at bus stops etc.

I think most of them didn't intend any offence but also had no concept of just how sensitive a question it was to ask someone from NI.

I have to say I have seen a huge amount of racism in England.

Not all English, but there is a lot.

Racial abuse has become a huge problem in Ireland. One things victims say is that people won't speak up. It's often gangs of feral scumbags, so people are probably afraid, but still...

Yes there is definitely racism in Ireland aswell.

In terms of religious belief or non belief the UK is far more diverse. 69% of the Irish population identify as Catholic 14 % of the population reported having no religion, compared to 41% having non-religious affiliation in the UK. Equally, Christianity accounts for 82.3% of the population. The variety of religions is far more diverse in the UK.

Why don't UK shops open until 12 on Sundays?

That doesn't happen in Ireland

Thats because people in Ireland didnt have any choice to be anything except Catholic for a long time. The Catholic church had huge power. They affected police and government decisions. They ran most schools and communities.

Now that the Cstholic church has lost its power, a huge amount of young people in Ireland are not Catholic.

The older generation remains Catholic. When they die out, the percentages will be a lot different.

This is hilarious, I can guarantee being a teenager in late 90s West London was a much more diverse place to grow up with kids at school whose heritage or religious affiliation was much more culturally diverse e.g. South Korean, Chinese, polish, Turkish, Czech, Jamaican, Jewish than late 90s Ireland let alone in 2026!

But at the moment in 2026 the percentages are very high, I don't think people should make such bold remarks but it's not really a surprise that people think his as the stats back it up!

I know a lot of Irish people and they're all rabidly Catholic, so yeah, I'd think there was about a 70% chance you would be, if you're from the Republic. I wouldn't say it out loud though.

I mean, Irish people are famously Catholic. I live in an Irish area and there are saints parades throughout the summer and three Catholic churches within spitting distance. Even people who don't count themselves as religious have Catholic funeral masses and a certain amount of guilt, lol!

82.3% identify as Christian, are they all old people? You mention Spain, I would imagine the stats are higher there and Italy presumably some countries are perceived as very religious. I don't think it's a shocker at all!

Why say it though. Its a lack of social manners. I could presume from the statistics that most English people I meet are likely Christian. I would never assume though!

Yes, I agree I have an Irish colleague who was explaining Catholic funerals in Ireland to me as it is totally different process and much more religious.

I did say Ireland also has these issues however what I experienced and witnessed in England was on another level.
I do stand by Irish being more likely to speak up, it's what suprised me so much about the English locals, so many more people around but much less outspoken when it came to harassment.

I was expecting people to help us because I'm used to speaking up or seeing other people do so back home in Ireland, so the fact not one person batted an eyelid when during any incident we were a part of or witnessed happen to others was a shock to me, especially so when shop/restaurant staff stayed silent.

I think the collective silence by the English public is why we experienced and seen it happen to others as much as we did, no one challenges these people's behaviour whereas in Ireland there's a higher chance someone will speak up.

That poster was Irish. The English dont hate the South Koreans do they? However some English people definitely hate the Irish. We have a history of conflict between us.

Again not all. My Irish mother has told me what she wants to happen when she dies. She doesnt want a funeral at all.

Where are you getting 82.3 from? The most recent survey said thst 69% identify as Catholic and about 4 percent as church of ireland ( protestant)

But that doesn't follow as 42% of the UK population report no religion compared to 14% in Ireland. Equally, the UK is far more religiously diverse, for example, I in an area where many identify as Jewish or culturally Jewish. In Ireland there is a very small Jewish population in comparison.

They can't be. Only English people would do such a thing!

The UK is still a Christian majority country. People have said on this thread - if any country has a majority religion , its ok to assume that everyone from that country is that religion.

The point they were making is that the English are racist which just demonstrates a complete lack of knowledge about many areas of the UK. That level of ethnic diversity is not something that would have been the same in 90s Ireland let alone now!

Ethnic diversity doesnt mean less racism though.

There is a good bit of diversity where i Live in England. My muslim coleague tells me that he is often told to fu"ck off home.

They recently had a protest in the city against immigrants coming here.

Equally, if you went to a school like I did with a vast array of ethnic identities, I think you'd appreciate that many wouldn't recognise this as their conflict at all, even though they were born in England.

Its not school kids in general who give the abuse. When I was a teenager visiting England, it was always the old men and women that would abuse me. Parents of friends. People at bus stops

they would Call all Irish people stupid etc.

Are the people asking/assuming quite religious themselves? If it is a big thing in their lives they might assume it is something others care about and then assume away from there...