Ninety five per cent of Irish people still believe in God, according to a study launched in Maynooth this week.

The survey, carried out by Jesuit sociologist Fr Micheal McGreil, spoke to 1015 adults in 2007 and 2008 about their religious beliefs and practices.

The survey, “The Challenge of Indifference: A Need for Religious Revival in Ireland”, is the third national survey carried out by Fr McGreil.

The first survey, carried out in 1972-73, showed that the overwhelming majority of Irish people, 91 per cent, attended weekly Mass, in spite of a perceived growth in secularisation at the time.

By 1989, this had dropped to 85 per cent, and by 1995, it had slumped to 64 per cent.

The new survey reveals that religious believe remains high, in spite of a significant fall off in the number of young people practicing religion