The number of Irish journalists declaring no religious affiliation, 55%, is four times higher than the general population at 14%, a Dublin City University study found.

Of the 35% who declared an affiliation, the vast majority (89%) identified as Catholic and 4% as Church of Ireland. Non-denominational Christianity, Quaker, Hindu and Buddhist were also noted by a small number.

‘Religious groups and institutions’ are considered the least influential factor/source for Irish journalists, with just 1% saying they are ‘very/extremely influential’, 17% saying ‘slightly/moderately influential’, and 48% saying ‘not influential’.

The remaining 34% of respondents said they were not relevant to their work or did not answer, the study ‘Irish Journalists at Work’ shows.

The study also shows that Irish journalists are overwhelmingly left-leaning in their political outlook, with 61% of journalists identifying as ‘fairly/very’ left wing or ‘slightly’ left of centre.