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21st Jan 2016

POLL RESULTS: JOE readers reveal how regularly they attend mass

Conor Heneghan

The figures tell their own story.

The stark decline in attendances at religious services throughout the country was highlighted today, as a report by consultancy firm Towers Watson for the Dublin Council of priests predicted a 33.3% drop in the numbers of people attending mass by 2030.

Both the Catholic Church and the Presbyterian Church of Ireland have experienced a decline in the number of people attending mass, figures that are expected to drop by an average of 2.5% a year over the next 15 years.

After seeing the figures, we decided to poll our readers on their mass-going habits, asking them if they go to mass or not, or if the only time they make an effort to attend is at Christmas.

Poll Mass

Over 1,100 people responded to the poll within a few hours and the results only confirm the figures represented in the report.

The vast majority of respondents said that they don’t go to mass, just over one in five said that they only go at Christmas and just 18%, less than one in five, said that they continue to go to mass on a regular basis.

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