[Marxism] Irish Belief in God falls to 87% in the Free State

["DoC" <donaloc@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

A chairde,

Just saw the interesting post from Calvin. I think 87% believing in God
in the Twenty-six Counties represents a significant fall.

I certainly feel that belief in God is lowest in urban centres and
amongst working class populations. In rural villages like my own, it is
almost considered immoral to declare (as I do publicly) a lack of faith.
Having said that I will maintain good relationships with local clergy
(of various denominations) simply because of the vast influence they
have on their respective communities.

I would have to say that belief in God would probably be lowest in the
urban, 'Protestant' working class youth who really appear to have bought
into the rampant hedonism dominating bourgeois western society. Although
that is not to say it is exclusively located in that sector as there are
significant numbers of Republicans and 'Catholics' as well as
intellectual 'Unionists' who are proud of their humanism. However, what
I'm trying to point out is that most Catholics would believe in God but
many don't go to mass whereas many Protestants would feel free to 'lose
their religion' but those who do believe are very intense believers
altogether - probably only similar to the religiosity of some USA
fundamentalist Protestants (with whom they have significant links).

To respond to Walter Lippman's scurilous innuendoes, I would just have
to repeat that at a time when many Catholic clergy are refusing to serve
eucharist to those 'living in sin' again in Ireland and at a time when
the Irish Republican movement are under fire from all sectors of
bourgeois opinion (both British and Irish) as a direct result of our
undeniable growth in support and our unquenchable demands for equality
and social justice (not to mention national liberation) it is wholly
inappropriate and unreasonable to foresee an era when the priest class
will defend the rights of the disadvantaged (who are often totally
alienated from the heirarchy and its association with the nationalist
petit-bourgeois layers) against professed and dedicated republican
socialists. But then again, it is very easy to discern fundamental
truths from the distance of 5000kms and from reading bourgeois and
liberal reportage rather than the sources themselves. As to your
categorisation of the historical IRA (the former provisionals) it is
totally inaccurate.

Le meas,
DoC.

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