Ireland's waning religious nationalism

Nationalism and Christianity were very close and overlapping in 19th century Europe. Most of the European countries believed their nation had a special affinity with God. Since all of these countries were Christian-majority, so the God was Christian God (See Religious nationalism in 19th century Europe). While many European countries lost their enthusiasm for religious nationalism in the early 20th century, Ireland, primarily due to the long history of Catholic persecution by the Britishers, was brimming with Christian nationalism at that time (See Irish Nationalism, Easter Rising (1916) and Catholic Church). After independence, Ireland adopted a constitution that highlighted the role of the Catholic Church. For instance, the Preamble of the Constitution stated:

In the Name of the Most Holy Trinity, from Whom is all authority and to Whom, as our final end, all actions both of men and States must be referred,We, the people of Éire,

Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, Who sustained our fathers through centuries of trial,

Gratefully remembering their heroic and unremitting struggle to regain the rightful independence of our Nation, And seeking to promote the common good, with due observance of Prudence, Justice and Charity, so that the dignity and freedom of the individual may be assured, true social order attained, the unity of our country restored, and concord established with other nations, Do hereby adopt, enact, and give to ourselves this Constitution.

Furthermore, Article 44(1)2º stated, "The State recognises the special position of the Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church as the guardian of the Faith professed by the great majority of the citizens. (This clause was removed by the Fifth amendment as given below).

Source: Ireland: A Chronology of De-Christianization

In the wake of the Irish referendum on liberalizing abortion, Church Militant, a Catholic magazine published an article Ireland: A Chronology of De-Christianization to demonstrate the gradual delinking of the Catholic Chruch and the state in the Republic of Ireland. The chronology only mentions the defeats and ignores the victories of those who believed in religious nationalism such as the 1983 referendum related to abortion and the 1986 referendum on divorce. In 1983, 66.9% voted to approve a constitutional amendment recognising the right to life of the unborn child (In 2018, almost the same proportion (66.4%) voted to repeal this amendment). In 1986, 63.5% rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to remove the prohibition on divorce that was part of the original constitution enacted in 1937:

1972: Irish voters approve, by a referendum margin of 84 percent, a constitutional amendment repealing Article 44 of the Irish Constitution, which recognized "the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Church as the guardian of the Faith professed by the great majority of citizens."

1973: The Irish Supreme Court declares a right to marital privacy which includes contraceptive use, but declines to overturn laws prohibiting the sale of contraceptives.

1979: The Health (Family Planning) Act becomes law, allowing pharmacists to dispense contraceptives to those holding a prescription from a doctor.

1985: The Health (Family Planning) Amendment Act becomes law, allowing the over-the-counter sale of condoms and spermicides to anyone over the age of 18.

1987: Ireland's first openly homosexual public official, David Norris, is elected to the Senate. A pedophilia defender and anti-Catholic bigot, Norris would call Pope St. John Paul II an "instrument of evil" and Pope Benedict XVI "a Nazi." His 2011 presidential campaign would implode after it was revealed that he sought clemency for a convicted homosexual child rapist who had been his partner in sodomy.

1988: In Norris v. Ireland, the European Court of Human Rights rules that Irish law prohibiting sodomy violates Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

1989: The Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act becomes law, which outlaws so-called hate speech directed against so-called sexual orientation.

1990: Mary Robinson, a former senator who advocated for the legalization of contraception, divorce and homosexuality, is elected the seventh president of Ireland. Robinson was the nominee of the Labour Party, but was also endorsed by the Marxist-Leninist Workers Party.

1992:The Health (Family Planning) Amendment Act becomes law, allowing the unrestricted sale of contraceptives to anyone over the age of 17.

1992: In Attorney-General v. X, the Irish Supreme Court declares a right to abortion arising from a threat to the life of the mother, including suicidal ideation.

1992: Voters in Ireland reject, by a referendum margin of 65 percent, a proposed amendment to the Irish Constitution which would overturn the X ruling.

1992: The Thirteenth Amendment to the Irish Constitution is passed, by a referendum margin of 62 percent, establishing a "right to travel" outside the country for the purpose of procuring an abortion. Between 6,000 and 8,000 Irish women go to England each year to kill their unborn children.

1992: The Fourteenth Amendment to the Irish Constitution is passed, by a referendum margin of 59 percent, establishing a right to obtain information about abortion.

1993: The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act becomes law, decriminalizing sodomy in Ireland.

1995: The Fifteenth Amendment to the Irish Constitution repealed, by a referendum margin of 50.2 percent, the constitutional prohibition against divorce, and allowed the civil dissolution of marriage.

1998: The Employment Equality Act becomes law, prohibiting discrimination in employment based upon so-called sexual orientation.

2000: The Equal Status Act becomes law, prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations based upon so-called sexual orientation.

2003: The European Convention on Human Rights Act becomes law, by which Ireland accepts the radically anti-Christian legal code of the European Union.

2007: In Foy v. Ireland, the Irish High Court rules that Irish law contravenes Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights by refusing to recognize as a woman a man who underwent so-called sex re-assignment surgery.

2010: The Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act becomes law, without a recorded roll call, establishing civil unions for same-sex couples.

2011: The Republic of Ireland closes its Embassy to the Holy See. Diplomatic relations with the Vatican are maintained through the Irish Embassy to the Italian Republic and the Apostolic Nunciature in Ireland.

2011: The first openly homosexual TD's (members of parliament) — Jerry Buttimer, John Lyons and Dominic Hannigan — are elected to the Dail.

2013: The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act becomes law, legalizing abortion in cases of suicidal ideation by the mother.

2015: The Children and Family Relationships Act becomes law, allowing homosexual partners to adopt children.

2015: The Thirty-Fourth Amendment to the Irish Constitution is passed, by a referendum margin of 62 percentage, allowing two persons to contract marriage "without distinction as to their sex."

2015: The first openly homosexual cabinet minister, Leo Varadkar, the son of an Indian immigrant, becomes Minister of Health.

2015: The Gender Recognition Act becomes law, allowing individuals to define their own gender.

2015: The Employment Equality Amendment Act becomes law, which extends anti-discrimination law pertaining to homosexuals and the so-called transgendered to Catholic schools and hospitals, and other religious institutions.

2016: American-born Katherine A. Zappone becomes Ireland's first openly lesbian cabinet minister, when she is appointed Minister for Children and Youth. Zappone is civilly "married" to Ann Gilligan, a former Catholic nun with whom she became romantically involved while both were studying at Jesuit administered Boston College.

2017: Leo Varadkar becomes Ireland's first homosexual prime minister.

2017: The United Nations recommends that Irish schools introduce compulsory sex education, which should include "comprehensive sex education for adolescent girls and boys covering responsible sexual behaviors and focused on preventing early pregnancies, and ensure that it is scientifically objective and its delivery by schools is closely monitored and evaluated."

2018: Dail Eireann passes, in its second reading, the Provision of Objective Sex Education Bill, which, if enacted, would force Catholic schools to indoctrinate Catholic children with propaganda affirming abortion, contraception, gender dysphoria and sodomy.

2018: The Irish Department of Education orders Catholic schools to change religion classes from an opt-out to an opt-in requirement.

2018: The Irish government proposes an amendment to the Status Act, which would forbid Catholic schools from giving enrollment preference to Catholic students. 

2018: The Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution, which guaranteed the right to life of unborn children, is repealed in a national referendum by a margin of 66.4 percent.

There are still some remnants of religious nationalism, such as the Preamble and Article 6 (1):

All powers of government, legislative, executive and judicial, derive, under God, from the people, whose right it is to designate the rulers of the State and, in final appeal, to decide all questions of national policy, according to the requirements of the common good.

Article 44(1):

The State acknowledges that the homage of public worship is due to Almighty God. It shall hold His Name in reverence, and shall respect and honour religion.

Finally, the oaths of the President, Council of State, and judges etc. start with the words, "In the presence of Almighty God, ..."

Irish Nationalism, Easter Rising (1916) and Catholic Church

Easter Rising is a seminal event in the Irish history. Following a brief summary of the uprising against British during the First World War from history.com:

On Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, a group of Irish nationalists proclaimed the establishment of the Irish Republic and, along with some 1,600 followers, staged a rebellion against the British government in Ireland. The rebels seized prominent buildings in Dublin and clashed with British troops. Within a week, the insurrection had been suppressed and more than 2,000 people were dead or injured. The leaders of the rebellion soon were executed. Initially, there was little support from the Irish people for the Easter Rising; however, public opinion later shifted and the executed leaders were hailed as martyrs. In 1921, a treaty was signed that in 1922 established the Irish Free State, which eventually became the modern-day Republic of Ireland.

On the eve of the hundredth anniversary of Easter Rising, a prominent Irish theologian, intellectual, and academician argued that religion/Catholicism was used by the leaders of the uprising against British colonial rule. Father Seamus Murphy, who is the associate professor of philosophy at Loyola University Chicago, accused the leaders of the rising, including Patrick Pearse, of instrumentally using Catholicism, its symbols and its teachings:

Pearse, familiar with but not overpious about, his Catholicism, uses the Old Testament and scapegoat themes, but NOT with Christian meaning...However, since all this superficially resembles some Catholic mass themes, he is able to channel the Catholic energy that is out there among ordinary Irish Catholics in the direction of a violent bloody undemocratic and intolerant nationalism. It’s very clever.

Catholic leaders at the time of the uprising in 1916 were also not supportive of this uprising because of its recklessness, futility, violence, and being carried by members of a secret society, Irish Republican Brotherhood. Though sympathetic to the sentiments of the men and women that took part in the uprising, the Catholic hierarchy, including the Pope, repudiated the act and helped the British re-establish law and order. However, later on, Catholic hierarchy softened its stance towards the rebels as they were afraid of losing the confidence of laity.

Source: http://riveredge.bccls.org/children.shtml

Well, this should not surprise anybody who has an understanding of religious nationalism, which always uses religion as a tool for nationalism. Very few religious nationalist leaders are religiously observant. The established church always have a complicated relationship with religious-nationalist leadership as they are not pious and are usually ready to bend religious edicts/principles, if it helps their cause. However, it is important to remember that church leadership is itself not immune from using religion to preserve or enhance its power.

Eamonn McCann, writing in The Irish Times, presents the view that the Catholic religious leadership was also trying to increase their power and used the Irish nationalist sentiment to their advantage in early 20th century. McCann, who is a political activist, atheist and socialist, has written extensively on religion in Ireland, including Dear God The price of religion in Ireland. He contests the view that Catholic hierarchy condemned the uprising:

It is said that “the bishops condemned the Rising”. This is at best an exaggeration, repeated today in efforts to project the Rising as a secular event. In fact, there were 31 Catholic bishops in Ireland in 1916, of whom only seven explicitly condemned the rebels. Most of the rest kept cannily quiet, before placing themselves soon at the head of the national movement which was to arise from the Dublin rubble.

He argues that the Catholic hierarchy soon owned the Easter Rising as well as the broader nationalist movement and managed to defeat the radical/Marxist/secular element in the nationalist movement that has led the uprising in 1916. Not surprisingly, Ireland emerged as a 'ultra-conservative confessional State' six years later:

The enthusiastic support of the (Catholic) hierarchy was vital for the success of the crucial 1918 anti-conscription campaign. “The Irish people have a right to resist [conscription] by every means consonant with the law of God” declared the bishops in a “manifesto” read at all Masses. This can be seen as the definitive moment when the endorsement of the church passed from the Home Rule Party to Sinn Féin. The bishops were nothing if not adept in detecting what way the wind was blowing...The Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 partitioning the island handed the bishops a State in which their ideological mastery was already established. Hence some of the horrors inflicted on the most vulnerable of the population in the half century which followed. There were no protest marches against church rule. They wouldn’t have been allowed.

So, Murphy is right to be indignant of what Pearce did, the usage of to use Catholic themes for his mundane nationalist objectives. However, as McCann explains, Pearce and other nationalists could not have used Catholic themes, if the Catholic Church hierarchy was not supporting them.