Catholic Church in Ireland
In the 2016 Irish census 78.3% of the population identified as Catholic in Ireland; numbering approximately 3.7 million people. Unlike Catholics in the United States, Ireland has seen a significant decline from the 84.2% who identified as Catholic in the 2011 census.
Religion in the Republic of Ireland
The next largest group after Catholic was "no religion". 10% of the population (468,421 people) had no religion or did not indicate a religious belief according to the census. This was a 73.6% increase from 2011 Researchers debate the relative significance of secularisation as a general feature of Irish society, the interpretation of census results and the extent to which religious syncretism is becoming more widespread.