The number of Catholics attending mass at least once a week has dropped by 10 per cent in five years, according to figures to be released later today.
Significantly, the decline is most pronounced in rural areas where the figures show that attendance dipped from 77 per cent in 1998 to 60 per cent today.
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According to the TNS/MRBI survey, carried out for RTÉ's
Prime Time
programme to be aired tonight, mass attendance in Ireland, while considerably higher than in other European countries, is declining rapidly.
The survey was conducted last Saturday and Monday among 1,000 adults representing a cross-section of the population over the age of 18, of which 90 per cent were Catholic.
The figures also confirm that Mass-going in urban areas is also dropping rapidly, with only 43 per cent of respondents saying they go to mass, down from 48 per cent five years ago.
However, 87 per cent of the Catholic parents said that they would prefer their children to be raised as Catholics.
When questioned on recent revelations regarding sexual abuse, 6 per cent of people said they blamed the State for the abuse while 25 per cent placed the blame exclusively at the door of the Catholic hierarchy.
An overall majority, 64 per cent, says both Church and State are equally to blame while 5 per cent had no opinion.
Among the other findings were that 10 per cent of Catholics surveyed didn't believe bread and wine became the body and blood of Christ at consecration, while 38 per cent disagreed with the doctrine of papal infallibility.
Some 10 per cent of Catholics did not believe in life after death, 13 per cent did not believe in the Virgin birth, and 5 per cent did not believe Jesus was the son of God.
Just a quarter agreed with celibacy for priests, while 66 per cent disagreed with a statement that there should not be women priests.
Some 24 per cent believed divorce was morally wrong, while 60 per cent agreed abortion is morally wrong.