Press release by The Iona Institute

 New poll reveals public is split in attitude towards the Catholic Church

 Forty-seven percent view the Church unfavourably, but 46 pc say Church teaching is still of benefit to society

November 3, 2011 A NEW POLL
commissioned by The Iona Institute shows that the public is split in its
attitude towards the Catholic with 47 pc currently viewing the Church
unfavourably while 46 pc believe Church teaching is still of benefit to
society.

 The poll was conducted by Amarach Research in September, only weeks
after the public outcry following the publication of the Cloyne report
and the attack on the Vatican by Taoiseach, Enda Kenny.

The main findings are as follows:

–       Forty-seven percent view the Church unfavourably at present

–       The main reason offered by those who view the Church unfavourably is the scandals

–       However, 46pc of the public agree that Church teachings are still of benefit to society

–       Twenty-two percent of the public would be happy if the Catholic Church disappeared from Irish society completely

–       One in five people agree that the Government  is excessively hostile towards the Catholic Church

 Commenting on the poll, Dr John Murray, the Chairman of The Iona
Institute said: “The poll shows that the public is varied in its
attitude towards the Church. On the one hand, almost half view the
Church unfavourably and on the other almost half believe the teachings
of the Church are still of benefit to society, despite the scandals.”

 He continued: “The poll also seems to show that viewing the Church
unfavourably doesn’t in itself indicate anti-Catholicism. This is
probably to be found among the 22 pc of people who say they would be
happy to see the Church vanish from Ireland completely.

 “The poll was conducted shortly after the publication of the Cloyne
report when anger at the Church was probably still intense. It would be
interesting to see what a poll conducted at a calmer time would find.”