The Republic of Ireland is the least Christian part of the English-speaking world and a place where “God is now seen as redundant and unnecessary”, a prominent Church of Ireland rector has said.

In an interview with an evangelical Australian newspaper, Rev Trevor Johnston said  “there is significant overall decline in the denominations on the island, but the Church of Ireland in the South is feeling this most acutely. The age profile is old, the reach is small and the major urban centres lack any kind of strong ministry”.

The Republic “has now come of age as a western European nation, rejoicing in having thrown off the shackles of its Roman Catholic heritage. We saw this clearly in the referendums on abortion (2018) and same-gender marriage (2015). For the southern Irish, God is now seen as redundant and unnecessary,” he said.

There were “significant swathes of the Church of Ireland that are revisionist in their approach to the questions of human sexuality. The official teaching of the church remains that marriage is between one man and one woman but there are many (bishops, clergy and laity) who are trying to change this teaching and in 2017 a motion, defeated by about 10-15 per cent, sought to push against this traditional teaching,” he said.