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…