Baptisms in Ireland drop by nearly 30% in past decade, survey finds

The Iona Institute has found the number of Catholic baptisms in Ireland declined by 29.6% from 2015 to 2025.

According to an Aug. 18 press release , the “two big drivers of the decline are falling births and rising secularism,” with birth rates accounting for about 60% of the decline. “In a way the figures are not a surprise given the rapidly falling number of births and growing secularization. Given that births have fallen by almost a fifth in the last ten years, and more people are ticking the ‘No Religion’ box in the Census, we could expect nothing but a big drop in baptism figures,” Tom Finegan, chairman of The Iona Institute, said in the release.

“It remains to be seen whether cultural Catholicism will remain a force in Irish life. It’s worth noting that in Britain in 2023, according to the Vatican yearbook, over 42,000 Catholic children were baptized, even though levels of Mass-attendance in Britain are low.”

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