Consumer Motives for Charity Donations

Consumer Motives for Charity Donations 1. Introduction Consumer motives and behaviour into donating to charity in general is a topic that is known to have a lack of research, creating an issue of ambiguity for charitable organisations. Most research existing is based on cause related marketing, the cooperative alliances between charities and corporations to gain charity funding, yet little in depth research exists on the area of personal financing from consumers in the form of donations. With figures from 2001 showing that the top 25 UK companies gave  £102 million to charity, with as much as  £31 million per donation, it is evident that it is most probably the case that the percentage of charity financing does come from corporations, at least for the larger corporations with many strategic alliances in the sector (Smith J. , n.d.). Although this should not mean that other areas of financing should be overlooked; particularly in a society in which social responsibility is growing in importance. Furthermore, neglecting this area of fi nancing could eventually change the entire focus and structure of charities, leaving the individual consumers out of the equation altogether. But of upmost importance is the fact that as stated by Patrick Cox, Chief Executive of the Small Charities Coalition, â€Å"cash donations are usually the primary source of fundraising income for small organisations†, suggesting that a failure to correctly understand consumer behaviour could lead to the diminishment of the small charity (Critchly, 2009). However, also considered within this research is the issue of consumer confidence in donating, whether consumer beliefs of misallocating financing, bureaucracy, and red tape is a significant factor in charity size preferences. Therefore this report serves the purpose of researching consumer motives in personal individual charitable contributions, examining whether these motives differ by the size of the organisation; in this research size is defined by the focus of the charity, being local based, national based or international based, therefore focusing on where the funds are placed as opposed to the actual numerical size of the organisation. The hypothesis to be tested is that consumer behaviour indicators change according to the size of the organisation. However, this research will only be based on the donative non-profit unit of the charities, meaning that it will only investigate the significance upon individual consumer contributions, and not any other areas of financing such as corporation or other organisational or governmental funding. Additionally, this research will not take into account the contributions made in the form of legacies. The study itself is based upon a model of charitable giving behaviour, which has been formed in consideration of other models of consumer behaviour, but also taking into account the information available in the field of charitable consumer behaviour. The model considers the areas of organisational inputs, psychological attachment, consumer confidence and experience alongside a selection of extrinsic determinants, namely consumer demographic factors. Quantitative research methods in the form of an online survey are adopted to test this model, in which 196 respondents are questioned. It becomes apparent that this research project has a large scale in terms of aims and objectives and what it is trying to prove. This study can be considered to be a smaller version of the big picture, in the sense that in reality the study would be much larger scale, with many researchers on board to investigate the topic. A UK wide study is generally a large project in terms of the amount of research needed to be conducted, however given the resource limitations of this study, the results found will merely provide an insight into differences and trends, for researchers to base further studies upon. Regardless, this study is considered to be of upmost importance in adding valuable consumer behavioural research to the field, a field in which studies are in general very sparse. 2. Literature Review A non-profit organisation is typically defined as one which has a â€Å"non-distribution constraint† (Hansmann, 1987, p. 28) , allowing firms to make surplus profits, however not to distribute financial resources to controllers of the organisation in the form of dividends and such, but to retain profits for other allocations. This idea is vital to the understanding of economic, financial and consumer dynamics of the sector. As Powell and Steinberg (2006) elucidate, the theories and models surrounding the economics of the non-profit sector create a great deal of confusion, since the basic ideas of profit maximisation do not apply, and it is assumed that any deviation from this ideal is considered market failure. It is difficult to believe that consumers, with their normally selfish economic motives, can have in reality such altruistic motives. However it is the case that these motives can be linked to fulfilling a consumer emotive need. Whilst the non-distribution constraint serves as a definition, it is not necessarily true to reality, since in the non-profit sector operational costs amount and the issue of rising administrative and fundraising costs becomes apparent in todays media. Administrative costs, whilst unavoidable, are certainly thought to be excessive in the industry, perhaps causing mistrust amongst consumers. It is thought that consumers expect the administration to charitable expenditure to be 20:80 (Kahler Sargeant, 2002); however research by Harvey and McCrohan (1998, cited in Kahler Sargeant, 2002) found that consumers are satisfied with a minimum of 60% of revenues reaching the final end cause, begging the question that if this is indeed the case, is consumer confidence in charity financing such an issue?  Ã‚   Either way, it is certainly the case that consumers are kept in the dark on the optimum level of relevant cost and efficiency margins. Escalating matters further, the body for regulatin g the UK charity sector, the Charity Commission, as â€Å"the sanctions for inefficient behaviour are not automatic† (Levaggi, 1995, p. 285).   Administrative costs compared to total expenditure appear to have a negative correlation to the size of the charity, meaning that the administrative costs are higher as a percentage when expenditures are less as can be seen in the figure below. This is perhaps not the common belief of consumers, with smaller charities being seen as less wasteful by consumers, proven by a survey initiated by Third Sector (Wiggins, 2010). Regardless of attempting to isolate consumers actual beliefs, attitudes and assumptions, research by NFP Synergy has confirmed that most individuals within the UK public do not have confidence in charitable organisations, with confidence dropping by 9% to only 41% (Hummerston, 2008). The involvement of ‘for profit companies with ‘non-profit organisations is normally in the form of cause related marketing, which according to Varadarajan and Menon is â€Å"the process of formulating and implementing marketing activities that are characterised by an offer from the firm to contribute a specific amount to a designated cause when customers engage in revenue providing exchanges that satisfy organisational and individual objectives† (Varadarajan Menon, 1988, p. 60). This form of voluntary contribution is more likely to occur with the larger charities as opposed to the smaller ones; furthermore it must be considered that the willingness to contribute and the motivations backing the decision is very much different to that of a general consumer, since although consumers are led to believe that companies engage in Corporate Social Responsibility for good causes, of course the bottom line concern is profit maximisation. According to Hansmann (1980), the non-profit sector can be separated into two different forms of organisations according to their dynamics; donative and commercial non-profits, and it is the non-distribution constraint which creates confidence that the money is being resourcefully and properly allocated. However since the service is not visually seen to be conducted by the consumer who donates, there could be issues with contract failure, or at least perceived contract failure; this is thought to be less of an issue with larger organisations as the sheer governance structure secures confidence (Wiliamson, 1979). Yet in any case there exists a corporation charter and legal framework to provide assurance. Although it must be questioned that due to the non-distribution constraint in larger companies whilst profits are not dispersed among management, there would be a much broader structure of employees, and hence remuneration and bureaucratic structure. Additionally, this ambiguity of th e constitute of financing appears to be a common cause for concern amongst consumers, with research showing that 51% of the UK public would give more if they knew where the money is spent (Wiggins, 2009). Existing research into the consumer behaviour of charity linked products tends to be research based on the field of cause related marketing, rather than the individual end consumers behavioural characteristics into products that are not linked with ‘for profit companies, such as donations and organisation branded purchases. Present research solely into non-profit organisations tends to be based on commercial non-profits such as nursing, hospital care and education institutions, where results and service can clearly be seen and evidently proved. Thus far, in the case of non-profits as a whole, research into the effects of product type and donation magnitude on willingness to contribute by Strahilevitz (1999) found that the effect of product type, hedonistic or utilitarian, is affected mainly by large donations rather than small donations; Illustrating the idea that consumers are more willing to by a hedonistic product if it is linked to a large donation rather than a smaller one . Furthermore research by Bearden and Etzel (1982) shows that charity linked purchases can be considered to meet the need to belong to an ‘aspiration group. Notable also is the peer pressure relating to the group to remain a member by exerting the appropriate philanthropic behaviours. There also appears to be a difference in contributions by age group as found by Kotler and Andreasen (1996), Foster and Meinhard (1997) add to this with results showing a difference in the preferred medium of contribution methods by age group. In addition, charitable donations could be seen as a result of guilt for a lack of ethical actions in ones life (Burnett and Lunsford, 1994, cited in Bonsu, Main, Wilner, 2008). Information of where the money is going is a important decisive factor in repurchasing according to recent research by Proenca and Pereira (2008), showing that perhaps the commercial advertising sector of non-profit organisations is of high importance for maintaining an effective c ommunications mix, as a channel of information for the consumer, increasing transparency of resource allocation and achievements. Understanding and guidance can be found from basic ideologies of consumer behaviour as a starting point. However one must remember that the purchase is for someone elses benefit rather than the consumer of the product. Buying decisions can be considered to relate to Maslows hierarchy of needs, since the consumer decision psychologically involves a need recognition, which would be related to one of the tiers of the hierarchy, namely physiological, safety, belongingness, self esteem, and self actualisation. In Maslows model we can relate charitable contributions as self actualisation, â€Å"the desire to become all that one is capable of†, although according to the theory the need is the highest of the hierarchy and can only be achieved once all others have been fulfilled. (Koontz Weihrich, 2008, p. 291). Scramms model of communication (1955, cited in Smith, 2002) shows how consumer behaviour can be related to the marketing communications, since attitudes and perceptions are ba sed on the message received by the consumer from the brand. Therefore we can question the extent of communication messages occurring in smaller non-profit firms, since it is evident that larger organisations participate in much more marketing activities. Moreover, general motives of consumer behaviour are thought to be linked to the personality of the consumer and how it directs actions. â€Å"Self-monitoring relates to self-presentation and reflects the degree to which one adjusts ones behaviour according to social cues† (Snyder, 1974, cited in Grace Griffin, 2006, p. 4). Consumers rating high in the self monitoring scale tend to be more aware and respondent to what others do within a social circle; as such they are more likely to donate if it is the social norm, creating circles of influence. Consumer behaviour is a field of study that has only been in existence since the 1960s, and as such there are many elements that have not yet been theorised. Most models are in reference to the process of decision making, rather than the behavioural characteristics that resolve the decision process to buy a certain product. However, we must consider the extent that one could ever understand the mind of the buyer; research trends would of course only show a generalisation of the sample, and of course the mindset will change by product, making studying behavioural characteristics increasingly difficult. Well acclaimed theorist Nicosia (1966, cited in Baker et al, 1988), was among the first to present a model in this field, flowcharting the process of decision making, with the steps from a consumer being exposed to a communication message, to purchasing and having a recognised post purchase experience. Andreasens Model (1965, cited in Argyris, 1988) added to this, introducing the realms of attitude factors to the process, revolving around attitude formation and change occurring to changing external stimulus. A common issue of theorists and psychology in general is the issue that one will never know what is inside the consumers ‘black box, their psychological mindset in decision making, one can only allude to it. The Engel, Kollat and Blackwell (1968, cited in Baker et al, 1988) model refers to the ‘black box as a central control unit, which consists of motives and response traits,   including many factors such as perceptions, values, and past experience behavioural characteristics. Present teachings of consumer behaviour tend to refer to a uniform model depicting and grouping the elements that influence behaviour; these are namely cultural, social, personal and psychological factors (Kotler, Wong, Saunders, Armstrong, 2005). Baker (Baker et al, 1988) has produced the most thorough model of buyer behaviour, a composition of all of the above theorists, in which the decision making characteristics can be clearly defined. The equation is as follows: P=f(SPPC, EC, IS, PF, CBBR) In which a purchase (P) can be defined as a function of selective perception (SP) and the behavioural response (BR) of enabling conditions (EB), information search (IS), precipitating circumstances (PC) and cost-benefit analysis (CB) factors combined. So whilst it is relatively unknown what is involved in the consumer decision making process, there are a number of key areas that can be alluded to for investigation, that appear in most models. In reference to charitable giving behaviours, treating the non-profit sector as anything other than one general research topic is uncommon, with researchers rarely distinguishing any sub categorisation of organisations, however some current findings are valid for the basis of understanding the differentials in motives and behaviours. It is known and studied that charities may take on a certain pseudo-human personality and hence certain personality traits can aid marketing efforts (Sargeant, Hudson, West, Conceptualizing brand values in the charity sector:the relationship between sector, cause and organization, 2008), based on the generalised theories of corporate personalities by McEnally de Chernatony (1999) and Palmer (1996); It was found that the traits held trends based upon the cause, sector and corporate cultural distinctions of the charity, which of course may differ by the various charity focuses and size. Sargeant (1999) , based on all existing knowledge in the field, crea ted a model of donating behaviour, shown below, in which an idea to factors influencing the decision process are elucidated. The issues that have particular relevance to examining the difference by charity size are namely the extrinsic determinants and perceptual reaction factors. However it must be noted that whilst the intrinsic determinants could apply to any charitable cause, the inputs in the form of marketing and communications can greatly affect the feelings of the consumer. Yet it must be noted that this model has yet to be tested, and is merely a portrayal of previous literature in the field. So whilst information and research is readily available and vast on the non-profit sector as a whole, research tends to be focused on either the cooperation of non-profit and for-profit firms using cause related marketing. That which differs from that area s mainly rooted in the service industry in the form of commercial non-profits and most other existing research on the consumer behaviour of non-profit companies is very shallow, not delving into the motivations and issues of consumer behaviour. There is as of yet, no existing published research that compares the size of the non-profit organisation with the behavioural constraints and patterns, in particular with regards to solely donative non-profits. 3. Industry Analysis 3.1. Revenue Analysis: The Importance of Individual Contributions in the Non-Profit Industry The structural makeup of the non-profit industry is much like any other, whilst we regularly hear about and are bombarded with advertising communications from the corporate giants in the trade, the reality is that in terms of numbers, these large firms are a tiny percentage of the industry, yet account for the majority of the total revenues, which can be seen in the charts below. According to the Charities Aid Foundation, the total amount donated by individuals in the year between 2009 and 2010 was  £10.6 billion excluding income in the form of legacies, which constitutes around one fifth of revenues in the sector, which was  £52 billion in the same year (Charities Aid Foundation, 2010; Philanthrophy UK, 2010). There forth, the importance of individual giving is high.   Looking towards giving patterns in the United Kingdom, we can see the importance of certain donor groups with the statistics that 54% of the population donated in a typical month in the years 2008 and 2009, with the median amount given being  £10; However the importance of the larger donations can be seen with 7% contributing more than  £100 per month, which equates to just less than 50% of charitable donations from the public (Booth, 2010). Interestingly, looking at the amount of money donated as a percentage of total income, â€Å"the top fifth of households give less than 1% of t heir income, while the poorest give 3%† (National Council for Voluntary Organisations, 2010). Regardless, the United Kingdom in relation to the rest of the world is one of the most generous countries, ranking 8th in the World Giving Index of 2010, which is measured upon the proportion of the public who had given to charity, helped a stranger and given time to those in need (Charities Aid Foundation, 2010). Interesting to discover in terms of the relevance of the research conducted within this report, is the importance of individual giving from the general public to the various size and focus groups of charities. Whilst the statistics show that overall it is of great importance, it may be that other areas of financing are of more importance for different sized charities; it would be thought that corporate donations and corporate social responsibility partnerships would be more important to the large international focused organisation than the small localised one. The above table shows research into the financial revenues of charitable organisations, attempting to decipher if there are differences in where the finance comes from between the three different types of charities, those with an international, national or local focus. This research study is not concerned with the numerical size of the organisation, but size in terms of the geographical spread of the benefits. In order to ensure validity of results, all of the charities included are of the same concern; all work in the child poverty sector and are focused on the enhancement of childrens lives. Since it may be the case that financing trends vary according to the type of charity, for example a medically focused charity would received a great deal more revenues from governmental organisations than most. Noticeable in researching this topic was that most charitable organisations do not release enough information to the public in the annual reports about where the revenue comes from, with only a handful of organisations providing enough information to be included in this study. This is even more apparent in the case of finding data for local charities. The results are fairly inconclusive in finding a strong trend in the revenue breakdown yet we can make some conclusions based on the findings. What can be seen is that the international organisations tend to receive a larger percentage in individual general public donations than the other forms of organisations. Regarding corporate and governmental contributions, what is evident is that international and even national organisations, which tend to be larger and better known, receive a great deal more in corporate donations. Whilst local charities receive a great deal of income from other sources, a particular observation is that they are mostly funded through other charitable organisations and non-governmental grants such as the national lottery funding. It could very well be that the local and even the smaller national charities do not have a strong enough presence in the world of media through advertising to gain sufficient individual contributions from the public. The averages can be seen depicted in the charts below. 3.2. An Outside Glance of Consumer Trust and Confidence The purchase decision to donate to charity, much like any ‘for profit industry, involves a great deal of trust and confidence elements on the consumers part to work through the stages of decision making to finally decide to make a purchase. We can even go as far to say that the element of trust in donating is even more prominent than in other industries, since when consumers make a purchase decision, they are not receiving a ‘physical product that they can feel post purchase satisfaction with, they are simply expected to believe the benefits of their purchase and that their money is being used well. It is often the case with most charities that a donation does not merit the information as to what activity or campaign it is being used for, limiting the knowledge even further, and thus possibly affecting trust. A consumer study survey conducted by Read Data Asset Management Group in 2010 showed that 42% of consumers would trust charities with their personal data â€Å"which is in stark contrast to government who were least trusted by 36%† (Read Data Asset Management Group Plc, 2010, pg 3). This is an interesting find in terms of confidence since the security of personal data is such a hot topic these days, with the public being incredibly cautious. The same study also examined reasons consumers would stop supporting a charity, finding that the highest rated responses were wasting money on marketing efforts, over contacting consumers and overly emotional marketing communications. These results are quite contradictory to reality since these tend to be the actions taken by the well known large charities, which are also the charities that are most popular amongst donors. We can also consider consumer trust and confidence levels not to be standardised across the industry; it may be that d istrust stems from certain charity types or causes. There are a great number of ‘pop up charities, created for crisis appeals, which are not well known or established as an entity and as such may not be as trusted. There is also the concern that such charities are started purely to merit the trustees a high wage. Consumer confidence can be greatly positively influenced by the presence of governmental regulatory bodies, rules and standards within industries. The past decade has seen a dramatic incline in the efforts to regulate and increase transparency, since the likes of the Enron scandal and other highly publicised fraudulent business operations, resulting in the development of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 to secure the business environment for consumers, and many UK equivalent legal regulations to the same context. Charities, akin to all organisations are required by law to abide to certain legal provisions. The United Kingdom adopted the EU Transparency Directive in 2007, which serves to promote appropriate disclosure of information, with the main areas of focus being â€Å"periodic financial reporting and disclosure of major shareholdings† (Ashurst, 2007). Supplementary to the above menti

Thorn Queen Chapter Twenty-Six

It was no secret: my mother hated Otherworldly things. Her feelings weren't that hard to understand, considering that she'd been a prisoner there, serving as Storm King's forced mistress-not unlike my own experiences now. Just as she tried to ignore what Roland and I did for a living, she also tried to ignore the gentry blood in me, treating me as though I were fully human and often refusing to hear otherwise. Therefore, I was a bit surprised that she took everything better than Roland did when we got back to Tucson. I knew they had discussions when I wasn't around. He filled her in on what had happened in Yellow River, how I'd been practicing magic on the sly, and how I was now the reigning monarch of a fairy kingdom. He told her about Leith too. If she was shocked by any of it, if she was repulsed by it and hated me for what I'd become†¦well, she never let on. She was just†¦well, my mother. She set me up in my old bedroom. It hadn't changed much over the years and even still had the same glow-in-the-dark stars I'd stuck to the ceiling. When I'd put them there in my youth, she had fretted that they'd never come off without ripping out part of the paint. So, I guess she'd never bothered in all these years. Roland knew someone who knew someone who came and did a field surgery on my shoulder, removing the bullet and leaving me with pain meds and antibiotics. That was about all I saw of Roland in those initial days of recovery. It was my mom who stayed with me the most, talking about anything that wasn't Otherworldly and making sure I had entertainment in the form of books and TV. I could pay little attention to those diversions, though, not when my mind was on so many other things. I would turn the events of the previous weeks over and over in my head until I grew too weary to string any coherent thoughts together. When I reached that exhausted point, I would usually just let my mind go blank for a while. It was oddly soothing, particularly since I so often woke up from nightmares about Leith. An empty mind was sometimes welcome. And it was my mother I went to when my period came. She'd already bought a pregnancy test too, just for peace of mind. When it came out negative, I stared sobbing. My mom held me in bed and rocked me the whole time, saying, â€Å"I know, baby, I know.† It was odd because I didn't even know why I was crying. The negative test was a good thing, and I was glad there were no loose ends with Leith. As she held me-the first time I'd really let anyone touch me since Art's house-I suddenly wondered how she had felt when she was pregnant with me. Had she been repulsed by the thought of the half-gentry child forced on her? Had she wanted to get rid of me but been unable to in the Otherworld? I shuddered, not wanting to ponder that too much. Thinking I was cold, she went and got me a sweater. It was a few days later that Roland and I finally talked. I was more mobile then and had come downstairs to make a bowl of cereal in the kitchen. He strolled in and joined me, sitting at the table with his coffee. His face seemed to have more lines than the last time I'd seen him. My fault, no doubt. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I said when the silence grew too hard to bear. â€Å"I†¦I should have told you.† He looked up from his cup. â€Å"Which part exactly?† â€Å"All of it. Everything. I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I sighed. â€Å"You were always so mad that I was spending time in the Otherworld at all. I thought you'd be upset if you knew the rest.† â€Å"Oh, believe me, I'm much more upset to hear it now than I would have been then.† â€Å"I'm sorry,† I said again, not knowing what else to say. â€Å"It all just happened so fast. There was that fight with Aeson-â€Å" â€Å"I know, I know. Kiyo gave me the details of that, though he too was a bit surprised to find out you can conjure up hurricanes worthy of Storm King now.† I shook my head. â€Å"I'm a long way from that. And once I started learning the magic†¦I just can't stop.† Now Roland sighed. â€Å"He's been by a couple of times.† It took me a moment to realize he meant Kiyo, not Storm King. â€Å"I'm not ready to see him.† â€Å"I know.† There was a pause, and I think it took a lot for Roland to say his next words. â€Å"He's not so bad. Relatively speaking.† I gave him a sad half-smile. â€Å"Yeah, he's great.† And I meant it†¦but something was bothering me about Kiyo, something that kept nudging me in the back of my head. I continued to ignore it. â€Å"So what happens now?† Roland asked. â€Å"What are you going to do?† I stared in surprise. â€Å"Well†¦what else would I do? The same thing I've been doing.† â€Å"What, running back and forth between the worlds, trying to act like you have some semblance of a normal life?† The tone of his voice hurt me. â€Å"What do you expect me to do? And it's not like our lives have ever been normal.† He shook his head. â€Å"This is different. You can't do this. You can't literally live in two worlds.† I munched on my cereal for a moment to give me a chance to think. â€Å"I don't really see that I have a choice. That land is bound to me. If I neglect it, it dies.† Roland said nothing. â€Å"Oh, come on! You think I should do that? Abandon it and let all those people suffer? You're as bad as Art.† The mystery of what had happened to Art's body and to Abigail was†¦well, a mystery. No one had told me exactly, save that it had â€Å"been taken care of.† Roland's eyes flashed with anger. â€Å"No, I'm nothing like him. Don't ever make that mistake. But the gentry aren't our people. They aren't your people.† â€Å"They are now,† I said, surprising myself. He stood up, his entire posture weary and defeated. â€Å"I don't know what to think anymore. I don't know what to think of you. I don't even feel like I know you.† In all these years together, he'd never raised a hand to me. But in that moment, it was like he'd slapped me. â€Å"What does that mean?† I asked. I meant to sound defiant. Instead, my words came out very small and very scared, much like a pleading child's. I remembered how grateful I'd been to see him at Art's. My father. My protector. â€Å"Do you not†¦do you not love me anymore?† He'd started to walk away but paused to look back. His blue eyes took me in for several moments. â€Å"Of course. I will always love you. You're my daughter. But†¦I'm not sure if things can ever be the same.† Roland walked out of the kitchen, and that's when I realized it was time for me to leave. Tim nearly knocked me over when I got back to my own house. My mom had called him to tell him I was okay when I'd first come to her place, but between my recovery week and the week at Art's with no contact, Tim had done a fair amount of freaking out. â€Å"What happened? Are you okay? I dealt with Lara while you were gone. You would have been proud.† I smiled, more pleased that he'd called her by her first name instead of â€Å"bitch secretary.† â€Å"Do you want me to make you something?† â€Å"You sound like my mom,† I teased. â€Å"Always wanting to feed me.† He shrugged. â€Å"You're too skinny. And I don't say that lightly, considering the kinds of girls I go after.† He was right both about me and his choice in women. They'd fed me at Art's, but I'd hardly eaten any of it. I'd lost a lot of weight, and while part of me wanted to bulk back up by tapping the bag of Milky Way candy bars in my pantry, I knew I should probably be delving into some serious nutrition for a change. So, I dispatched Tim to cook up some steak stir-fry, a request he was more than eager to accomodate. I spent the rest of the day restless and bored, unsure of what to do with myself. I did some laundry, despite Tim's protests that he could do it, and scarfed down lots of his stir-fry. The animals were all there, which led me to believe Kiyo was still staying there too. After I'd refused to see him at my parents', I half-expected him to have moved out. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to do now. I didn't plan on going to the Otherworld anytime soon, and there was no way-as I told Lara later on the phone-that I could take any new jobs for a while. This made both Tim and her nervous about my accounting, but I knew my savings account was at least temporarily secure. My magic I left completely alone. I wasn't going near that, even though there were times the air and the water vapor around me would call to me like a siren's song, and I'd burn to touch them. The one bit of magic I did use was shamanic: I tried to summon Volusian. He didn't come. I wasn't sure what to think of that. I was almost grateful for nightfall so that I could go to bed and stop trying to figure out things to pass the time. I wondered if this apathy was just a natural consequence of the trauma I'd been through, some kind of numbed state. TV, my puzzles, even Tim's cheery chatter†¦none of it could hold my attention. I wasn't bored, exactly. I just wasn't very engaged with the world. That night, just as I used to do, I dreamed of the Thorn Land. The dream was so vivid and real. It was like I'd stepped outside my own home to go walking in the foothills, like my soul was traveling on without my body. The air was sharp and clean, filled with the fragrance of desert flowers. The sun was warm and merciless-yet comforting in its familiarity. And the colors†¦the colors made my dream self want to weep. Peaches and greens and all the colors of the cacti flowers looking up at the clear blue, blue of the sky. For the first time since my capture and rape, I felt at peace. I felt whole and healed in the dream. I woke up with a longing in my chest, like there was a piece of me missing. The sharpness of it startled me-and scared me a little. Tossing on a robe, I made my way out to the kitchen, hoping coffee and breakfast would shake off that all-consuming desire to run to the Otherworld. â€Å"Kiyo,† I exclaimed. He sat at the table with coffee, both dogs at his feet. I had a weird deja vu from coffee with Roland yesterday and suspected there was â€Å"a talk† in store for me. â€Å"Eugenie,† he said, looking up from the paper. His eyes were warm and chocolate-brown, filled with so much love. He rose from his chair and approached me, arms open. I started to go into his embrace but something made me shrink back, some protective instinct of my body's to keep itself safe. I knew he wasn't Leith. I knew Kiyo loved me†¦but there was just something within me that was afraid to touch anyone else. My mother was the only one I'd allowed to hug me so far. Sadness and hurt flashed through Kiyo's eyes at my rejection, but he seemed to understand. Awkwardly, he simply gave me a soft touch on the arm, which I allowed with only a slight flinch. We both sat down-after I'd fetched coffee-and he drank me in with those intense eyes, like he hadn't seen me in years. Of course, these last two weeks or so had certainly felt like years to me, so perhaps that wasn't such a bad comparison. â€Å"How are you?† he asked. â€Å"I've missed you so much. I've been so worried.† â€Å"I'm okay. I was in good hands.† â€Å"How's your shoulder?† I gave it a slight shrug. â€Å"Stiff. But mending. I could probably go over to the Otherworld and get someone to patch it right up.† His face instantly darkened. â€Å"I think you need to stay away from there for a while.† â€Å"Jesus Christ. Not you too. I'm that land's ruler. I have to go back.† A flash of the dream came back to me. It was more than some subconscious musing, I knew. The Thorn Land and I were tied. We couldn't stay apart. I had known that being away from it would cause it to die, and now I was realizing that I might die without it as well. â€Å"There has to be a way. I was talking to Maiwenn, and she's going to look into it. Surely, somewhere in the pages of their history, someone gave up their kingdom without dying.† â€Å"Is that a good idea?† I asked. â€Å"Me giving it up?† â€Å"Of course,† he said, shocked. â€Å"You've never wanted it. You've said so a hundred times. It'd be better for everyone. The next person bound to the land probably wouldn't transform it into a desert. You'd be free, able to go on with your life here, free of the magic†¦.† I narrowed my eyes. â€Å"I'll never be free of that either.† â€Å"Yeah,† he agreed, stiffness in his voice, â€Å"but there'll be less temptation outside of the Otherworld. Why the hell didn't you tell me you were learning all that stuff?† â€Å"I did tell you! I told you about Dorian sending Ysabel.† â€Å"What I saw you do in there†¦that was nothing like what you said she taught you.† â€Å"It happened fast†¦I didn't realize it half the time myself, and I didn't want to upset you.† â€Å"No one learns that fast,† he muttered. I remembered Shaya's words. Storm King did. â€Å"Well, I'm apparently not all-powerful. I lost hold of Volusian during that ordeal. He didn't come when I called.† â€Å"Oh. I thought you knew.† â€Å"Knew what?† â€Å"He's bound to Dorian now.† I stared for several seconds. â€Å"Oh my God. I thought that might happen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Kiyo stared back. â€Å"You did? Then why the hell did you send him to Dorian? Why not send him to warn me?† â€Å"For exactly that reason! If Volusian broke from my control, I knew Dorian could probably bind him.† â€Å"I suppose. But I feel like you've just given Dorian a nuclear warhead.† I didn't say it, but I had a feeling Kiyo was more upset that it was Dorian I'd contacted for help and not him. â€Å"And that's how you found me, right? Volusian told Dorian, who then told you and Roland?† I'd heard it from Roland but wanted to hear it again. Kiyo nodded. â€Å"We'd been looking for you as soon as you disappeared after the battle. None of us had a clue what had happened. We got Roland involved a few days later to help with a hunt in this world, but none of us†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shook his head. â€Å"None of us had any idea that that's what had happened to you.† Awkward silence fell, each of us thinking about the things neither of us would give voice to. My imprisonment. My rape. I lowered my eyes, playing with the edge of the coffee cup. The memories were like a rollercoaster. Sometimes they'd sink way down low into the bottom of my mind. Other times, they'd flare up sharply, pushing to the forefront of my mind and unleashing all the dizzying, horrible feelings of fear, violation, and helplessness that ordeal had caused. I suddenly looked up sharply and met Kiyo square in the eyes. â€Å"Why didn't you let me kill Leith when I had the chance?† With a shiver, I remembered the vengeance burning within me and the storm swirling around me. The question clearly caught Kiyo off-guard. â€Å"What? You know why. Because of the political fallout†¦because you're not the kind of person given to revenge†¦.† â€Å"Aren't I?† I demanded. I was suddenly angry at him, and it occurred to me right then that I'd been suppressing a lot of it this whole week. â€Å"You have no right to talk about when revenge is right. You didn't go through what I did.† â€Å"I know,† he said, trying to be gentle. â€Å"I don't doubt he deserved a horrible punishment. I can only imagine how it was for you-â€Å" â€Å"No. There is no way you can imagine.† â€Å"It's more than just revenge, though. Do you know what's happened in the wake of this? Katrice is massing her armies, Eugenie. The monarchs haven't had an all-out war in ages. This could get very bad. People are going to die. I wanted to save you from that†¦wanted to save you from being her target.† â€Å"Alright. Then why didn't you kill him?† Dead silence. â€Å"What?† Kiyo exclaimed at last. I never lowered my gaze, astonished at the coldness in my voice. â€Å"You said he deserved a horrible punishment.† â€Å"Yeah, imprisonment or-â€Å" â€Å"Imprisonment? Are you crazy? He's a prince. We couldn't have kept him without the same ‘political fallout.' He would have walked.† â€Å"Going to war is worse, believe it or not.† â€Å"Then you still should have killed him,† I repeated. â€Å"Everyone keeps going on about how you're ‘just' a kitsune. You aren't technically aligned with anyone. Maybe she would have put a hit out on you, but she wouldn't have gone to war against you alone.† Kiyo's eyes were wide. â€Å"Are you listening to yourself? This is insane! You're condemning me for not killing a man that was on his knees.† â€Å"That man did horrible, awful things. He didn't deserve to walk away unpunished.† Kiyo's shock had given away to anger. â€Å"I can't believe you're holding me responsible for this. And you know what? This is the magic talking. The more of it you use, the more it changes you. This is why you need to stay away from the Otherworld! For your own protection. Before you turn into someone you don't want to be.† â€Å"Oh, now you want to protect me! Look, you of all people should understand. I can't stay away from the Otherworld. I can't stay away from this world. I don't belong anywhere! And yet†¦I belong everywhere. There's no good fit for me. I'm split, Kiyo. I thought you'd get that. You told me before that you did. You're the same.† â€Å"It†¦it's different somehow.† â€Å"That's not good enough. You're being a hypocrite,† I exclaimed. â€Å"You make decisions for both of us based on what's convenient at any given time. You think you can handle it one way but that I can't. That's not fair. You can't make different rules for each of us.† â€Å"I'm trying to protect you,† he repeated. â€Å"You don't think I'm strong enough to handle the things you can?† He held up his hands. â€Å"I don't know. Maybe I'm the one who isn't strong enough to make the tough decisions.† â€Å"Dorian is.† It was out before I could stop it. Dead silence, round two, descended on us. Kiyo finished his coffee. â€Å"I see. So that's what this is really about.† He stared around, taking in the house and the cats sprawled everywhere. â€Å"Maybe†¦maybe it's time I pack up my things.† I crossed my arms. â€Å"I think that's a good idea.† â€Å"It might take me a day or two to collect these guys, though.† â€Å"That's fine.† I kept perfect control in my voice, focusing all my energy on sounding flat. If I slipped up, I might start crying or begging him to stay. I might apologize for being so harsh and holding him responsible for not letting me kill Leith. It wasn't fair for me to blame Kiyo and laud Dorian†¦ †¦and yet I did. Kiyo stood up, saying he'd come back to do a thorough packing when I wasn't around since that might be easier on both of us. I agreed. Tension engulfed us as he moved toward the door. I'd hurt him; I knew it. And truthfully, I didn't fully know if I was making the worst mistake of my life here in breaking up with Kiyo. True, we had been fighting a lot, with him not understanding the choices I'd been having to make. The heart of it was, though, that I felt he'd had the opportunity to protect me†¦and hadn't. â€Å"Eugenie,† he said, hovering near the back door. â€Å"I know you were hurt. I know you suffered-and still do. And I guess I can see why you think what Dorian did was noble. But it's not. There are big consequences to this, and someday-probably soon-you're going to regret what he did.† I shook my head, still obstinate. â€Å"I don't know. Maybe.† â€Å"No matter what you think of me, it's not too late. You can make amends with Katrice. You can stop this.† There was a desperate, pleading look in his eyes, and I wondered if it was because of his desire for peace or the agony of leaving me. My own hurt over him leaving was steadily growing, but something in his words halted it. â€Å"Make amends? What's that mean?† â€Å"I don't know†¦apologize†¦blame it on Dorian. Maiwenn might negotiate†¦.† My anger spun back up. â€Å"I am not going to grovel to the woman whose son raped me. And I'm not going to let Dorian get punished for something I should have done myself.† Maiwenn didn't even deserve mentioning. â€Å"I'll face the consequences, Kiyo. I'm the Thorn Queen.† He gave me a small, sad smile. â€Å"Are you sure? Or are you the Storm Queen?† I frowned. â€Å"What?† â€Å"That's what you told Leith. Back in the kitchen.† â€Å"No.† So much of those memories were fragmented, but I was certain I'd recall that. â€Å"I told him I was the Thorn Queen a few times-but good God. Not Storm Queen.† â€Å"I heard you. Once you said Storm Queen.† I shook my head, anger returning. â€Å"You made a mistake. They sound alike. Easy to mishear.† His smile twitched; his sadness grew. â€Å"Not with my hearing.† Kiyo left after that-to where, I didn't know. It didn't matter. My heart was broken, and thinking about him too much was only going to make things worse. Instead, I knew I had to leave too. I had to get out of here-and I knew exactly where I had to go. I had to go to my kingdom.

The Essentials of Environmental Argumentative Essay Topics Animals That You Will be Able to Benefit From Starting Today

The Essentials of Environmental Argumentative Essay Topics Animals That You Will be Able to Benefit From Starting Today The Awful Side of Environmental Argumentative Essay Topics Animals Choosing topics for argumentative essays is essential for your general success. Persuasive essays are an excellent means to encourage the reader to check at a particular topic in a different light. To locate argumentative essay topics easy on various platforms, you want to comprehend about the argumentative essay. Researching the topic will enable you to find out more about what fascinates you, and should you pick something you truly like, writing the essay will be more enjoyable. Argumentative essay is about arguing and debating on a subject, which is debatable. Moral argumentative essay topics are a few of the simplest to get carried away with. The very best argumentative essay topics are the simplest ones. Recent argumentative essay topics that are related to society is going to do. You're able to support a specific idea whilst criticizing different facets but let the reader decide. You may want to take a decent argumentative topic that's currently a popular issue or one that has adequate relevance in todays times. It's possible to select an intriguing topic from any area of science. If you're in a college and need to compose an argumentative essay, you should decide on a subject of high importance. The student should investigate a topic, evaluate evidence, collect, generate, and set a standpoint on this issue in a powerful and concise method. A conclusion is, undoubtedly, the most crucial portion of the argumentative essay because you can either support the very good impression or destroy it entirely. You should also create a brief summary of the primary reasons behind your argument for the argumentative essay topic. With fantastic arguments, it is going to be simple to create your viewpoint. You will need to back up your viewpoint with well-researched facts and data too. Political issues are the ideal example. Relevant Topics that are related to your society will engage the reader in the very best possible method. Want to Know More About Environmental Argumentative Essay Topics Animals? Instead of just immediately writing about your argumentative essay topic, you should first think about what it is that you are likely to put back on your paper through a procedure of brainstorming and pre-writing. The topic is just one of the most crucial deciding factors which will have an influence on the results of the grade of the essay. You are able to ask your teacher for approval if you're not certain which topic is more interesting. Fantastic news is that we've got a solution. The intent of assigning an essay to middle school students is to make awareness and permit them to develop writing skills. To write a strong argumentative essay, they should begin by familiarizing themselves with some of the common, and often conflicting, positions on the research topic so that they can write an informed paper. With proper main topics, they can reach good results. Another reason is to observe how well students argue on various views and demonstrate understanding of the studied subject. You will be assigned a topic, or your professor will permit you to select your own. Complex subjects may get rather harmful. It is preferable to use templates since they include all necessary formatting elements. You need to be able to use persuasive language.

Secularisation in Contemporary Ireland

Sample details Pages: 25 Words: 7467 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Sociology Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? This study will investigate whether, and in what ways secularisation is occurring in contemporary Ireland. Theories of secularisation, and arguments against the process, abound, and this is a hotly debated topic. How, and in what ways might secularisation be said to be taking place within a given society? This study will attempt to make a contribution to this debateby looking at the situation in Ireland. Attention will also be paidhowever, to what has happened in Britain as much of the researchconcerning secularisation has taken place in that context. It will makesome comparisons between Ireland and the situation in Britain and otherEuropean countries to demonstrate the unique place of religion in Irishsociety. The study will seek to understand: Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Secularisation in Contemporary Ireland | Sociology" essay for you Create order What processes might signify whether secularization is taking place? Whether similarly observed processes might be said to signify that secularization is taking place in Ireland Whether Contemporary Ireland could be said to be a secular society or as Brewer (2005) contends, a post-Christian society. Whether, and in what ways religion may be said to have a unique position in Irish society. The study will draw on statistical and documentary data, along withmedia reports to ascertain whether, and in what ways, secularization istaking place. The study will look at the relationship between religionand the state in the republic of Ireland and also in Northern Ireland.It will also look at the education system and the phenomenon ofinter-religious marriage. In this way the study treats existingdocumentation as primary data by using it together in a distinctivefashion. Structure The study will begin with theories of secularization and a literaturereview which will look at the process in Britain and in Europe andcontrast this with the situation in Ireland to demonstrate in what waysIreland may differ from other industrialized societies and how this mayaffect whether and in what ways secularization could be said to betaking place. Following the literature review the methodologicalapproach to the study will be outlined and attention will be paid toreflexivity in the research process. There will be an analysis of thefindings of the research and finally a conclusion that will establishwhether the research question has fulfilled its aims. Religion is common to almost all cultures. Religious traditions andtheir teachings are, it might be argued, the result of three things,faith, theology, and culture. Anthropologist Clifford Geertz (1966) describes religion thus: 1. A system of symbols which acts to 2. Establish powerful, pervasive,and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by 3. Formulatingconceptions of a general order of existence and 4. Clothing theseconceptions with such an aura of factuality that 5. The moods andmotivations seem uniquely realistic (Geertz, 1966:4). Religion has many different aspects from personal beliefs aboutspirituality, to institutional structures like schools and hospitals,to the influence of religious bodies over legislation Until theEnlightenment the teachings of religion were rarely questioned becausethey were regarded as direct truth from God. Modernity, with its implicit understanding of the absolute powers of reason, called intoquestion the traditional understandings of theological truth claims anddrastically reduced the cultural influence of theology and religion. The contemporary term secularisation has come to represent thedeclining influence of religion in society. The word is contextual inthat it arises from the western tradition and is part of the history ofthe church.It was first used in 1648 to refer to the transfer of landsunder church control to lay political control. The term secular is alsoused to specify that which is inferior to the realm of the sacred. Itwas later used in the context of the priest being allowed to dispensewith his vows, in the Middle Ages the distinction between religious andsecular priests referred to those who worked within a religious orderand those who worked among the laity. From the 1830s onwards the death of religion due to the rise of thescientific age was proclaimed by confident atheists. Comte inparticular decreed that the fiction that was theology would die and be replaced by the truth of science. This viewwas largely endorsed by Marx, Durkheim, Weber and Freud, all of whomwere convinced that the forces of the modern age heralded the birth ofa secular one. Auguste Comte is regarded as the founder of sociology.He believed that with the rise of science religion would, eventually, die out. Weber also thought that religion would loseits significance through the growth of capitalism and the influence ofurbanisation and rising technology. The world would become desacralisedand there would be less reliance on magic and religion. Meaning wouldbe found rationally. Throughout the twentieth century it had been widely assumed that the decline of religion and religious belief was an irreversible process. Sociologists are keen to stress thatsecularisation is a natural process rather than a polemic againstreligion (which secularism is), some would also argue thatsecularisation is not an ideology (an imposed system of ideas). It is simply a process which has been observed over the last two or three hundred years. Seen from this vantage point secularisation is largely the result of two things, the increasing complexity of modern society andits compartmentalisation into different areas, for example, politics,education and the law, and religion ceasing to provide cohesion for allareas of human life. Wilson (1966) says that the complexity of thisprocess is characterised by a wide variety of innovations which haveled to a structural change in society. He cites the following;scientific advance and the development of technology, changing patternsof work and increasing industrialisation, the rise of individuality,and education characterised by science rather than religion andtradition. Bruce and Wallis (1992) class secularization as the diminishingsocial significance of religion, directly brought about by threestrands of modernization: social differentiation, societalizationand rationalization. By social differentiation, they mean theprocess by which specialised institutions take the place of religiousones; for example, in Britain the provision of education and welfare isnow the responsibility of a secular government, not the church. Socialdifferentiation also includes the fragmentation of society into distinct social groups basedon differing life experiences, for example a distinction between socialclasses. Bruce allows however that the significance of religion is lesslikely to decline if it can find some social role, other than thecommunication of beliefs, within the wider society. In Ireland forexample, the fact that religion has long been a source of contentionhas given it another social role. Societalization refers to the disappearance of small-scale communitiesand their replacement by the idea of society, largely due toincreasing industrialization and urbanization. Rationalization refersto changes in the way people think; the rise of science and technologyhas removed uncertainty and the need for faith and has provided rational explanations for questions which in the past wereconsidered the domain of religion. The combined effect of theseprocesses is the decline in the social position of religion. McLeod(1992) maintains that the concepts of differentiation andrationalization are not particularly helpful when trying to understandthe place of religion in a particular society as cultural practicesdiffer widely. Berger (1970) believes that urbanisation and modernisation result insocial fragmentation and this leads to a plurality of cultural andrelgious groups. The monopoly previously held by one group comes to anend. We can see that this has happened, whether or not we subscribe tothe secularisation thesis. Secularisation is a problematic concept however, while Wilson (1982) and Bruce (1996)maintain that the forces of modernity heralded a new secularized age,other theorists differ. The view that modernization inevitably leads tosecularization is often challenged. Martin (1978) contends that inorder to make sense of the process of religion in industrialized societies attention must be paid to the specific cultural andhistorical patterns that pertain in a specific society. In NorthernIreland for example, religion has remained in the public arena as asource of dispute that is connected to issues of national identity.What happens in Ireland is quite different to what has happened inBritain sin ce the Second World War. The Changing Face of Religion in Britain The religious landscape of Britain was significantly different at the close of World War2 than it is now, at the dawn of the twenty first century. In the yearsimmediately preceding the war and on into the late 1940s and 50s themajority of British people still had some form of contact with theChurch (often through their children attending Sunday School, orthrough membership of Scouts, Guides and the like) and many still claimed to hold a belief in God and in the basic teachings of Christianity. They would also have been exposed to explicitly Christian teaching in schools. The General Picture and its Effects in Ireland The growing importance of the ecumenical movement meant a change indenominational attitudes. Mainstream Christianity was endorsed in partby the 1944 Education Act. The Act required that the school day begin with anassembly and act of worship and that religious instruction should beaccording to an agreed syllabus and should be given to all pupils(Parsons, 1993). The Act did not make provisions for other faith traditions, but neither did it specify the form of worship or instruction. The ongoing effect of the Act was to weaken the hold of mainstreamChristianity on British society, although this was not considered atthe time the Act was passed. It was felt that non-denominational worship and teaching would make sensewhen co-related with more specific Church teaching that it assumedchildren would have (Parsons, 1993). However this assumption proved to be unfounded. Theway in which education has been affected in Ireland is ratherdifferen t. In some areas amendment to the education system haveresulted in a reiteration of Catholic religious beliefs to thedetriment of the Protestant minority. The Picture in Ireland Secularisation has affected the whole ofEurope and surveys undertaken in the 1980s and 90a via the EuropenaValues systems survey indicated that many young people show little ifany recognition of religious symbols. In Ireland the situation israther different. Although seculaisation may be seen to be having aneffect religion has always had a prominent place in Irish life andpolitics. In Ireland the survey showed that there was a growing lack of confidence in the church and that for the first time a generation who were not connected to the church was emerging. Irelandis quite different from both Britain and the rest of Europe. While inBritain and the rest of Europe the process of secularization has been taking place for thelast300 years, Bishop Bill Murphy maintains that in Ireland it has onlybeen observable for the last 30 years. In the republic of Irelandthere has, historically been a much closer connection between Churchand state. The refusal of the state to confront the Church iscontributing to the international problem of the unresolved question of those who have been sexually abused by clergy. Doyle (2005) writes poignantly on this matter. Their voice is stifled, their complaint against the church is relegatedto the wings. This is precisely what the Church has sought to doelsewhere, including America, though with much less success and at far greater financial cost. (Doyle, 2005 no p. no.). The place of education, and particularly compulsory religious educationis a highly controversial subject in sectarian Ireland. From thenineteenth century the education system in Ireland has been split alongsectarian lines and in the last thirty years this has been an area ofmajor concern for some analysts (Darby, 1976). Bowen (1983) maintains that since independence the minority ofProtestants (in the 1991 census only 3% fell into this category) hasfallen further and that this is largely a result of inter-religiousmarriage. In 1996 a study was undertaken to establish the number ofinter-religious marriages in Ireland (Sexton and OLeary, 1996).Ireland has witnessed a growth in inter-religious marriages (Bowen,1983). Jack White, a Protestant wrote of inter-religious marriagethat: no single cause contributes so much to the continuing division in Irish life and the embitterment of inter-church relations; in any circle of Protestants this will be advanced to justify segregation in education and social activities(White, 1975: 129). The Research Question This study looks at the process of secularization in contemporaryIreland. It draws comparisons between what has happened in Britain andwhat is happening in Ireland. The argument of this study is that theIrish context is quite unique and secularization may not be occurringin the way that sociologists understand it, i.e. the removal ofreligion from the public to the private sphere. In Ireland theconnection between Church and state and between religion and politicsmeans that religion is constantly in the public sphere and thus thesituation is quite different. This difference has led Brewer (2005) toview Ireland in terms of a post-Christian society rather than in termsof secularization. The use of the term post-Christian originated in the1960s in Britain where the pace of social and religious change and thecontention of many theorists that Britain was a secular society ledsome theologians to speak of the death of God and a post-Christian era.The term was again take n up in the 1960s by feminist theologian MaryDaly who called on women to leave the Churches and to participate in apost-Christian spirituality. Methodology This study will investigate the above question through a literature based survey. It will look especially at : Inter-religious marriage The education system Whether the situation in Ireland could be said to be unique in that religion in Ireland still occupies a very public place. Due to costs and time constraints the research will consist of theexamination and analysis of existing documentation, statistics, andmedia reports. Theoretical concerns are Whether, and in what ways, increasing industrialization and modernization influences the process of secularization in Ireland. How this process manifests and may be connected to any perceptions of the decline of religious authority in Ireland. Whether what is emerging could be called secularization, or as Brewer(2005) maintains might be better thought of as post-Christian The major areas of analysis are through the relationship betweenChurch and state in the republic of Ireland and how this impacts on, oris impacted by, inter-religious marriage and the education system.Questions arising from this are: How far might the relationship between Church and state be said toimply that the Irish situation is unique due to religions place in thepublic sphere. Does a growth in inter-religious marriage loosen religious ties anddoes it indicate a decline in adherence to religious authority? Has integrated education been successful and how does this affect the teaching of religious values and doctrines? How far could there be said to be a move towards a multi-faithorientation in the teaching of religious studies, and what effectsmight this have on the Irish situation? Might Ireland be said to be a post-Christian rather than a secular society. The research will be largely literature based, using existing studies and analyzing them in terms of the above questions. This same process of analysiswill also be applied to media reports and to statistical findings. Onesource of data will be the 1991 census which indicated that 84% of theIrish population still claimed regular church attendance. In addition the study will look at any decline inreligious practices as defined by Wilson 1982. How does societydistance itself from religious traditions? Theorists argue that it canbe seen in the decline in the number of church baptisms and weddings,and the fact that church officials have less financial recognition. InBritain religious festivals have become increasingly secularised and sohave beliefs with numbers of ministers saying that they no longerbelieve in the virgin birth, the incarnation or the resurrection. Wilson is of the opinion that there are at least three levels ofanalysis that need addressing if we are to assess the impact ofsecularisation they are: religious practice, religious organisation andreligious belief. While these three levels are dealt with separatelyfor the purpose of this research, they are connected empirically.People are, more often than not born into a religious tradition in thesame way that they are born into a particular culture and these thingswill affect a persons worldview, their moral values, and their senseof themselves. This study will also ask how far Wilsons levels ofanalysis could be said to be evident in Ireland and thus relevant tothe Irish situation. The distinctiveness of this study is the bringingtogether of a number of different aspects of the Irish situation andcomparing them (for example attitudes to marriage and to abortion) towhat has happened in Britain. Does going to Church really mean that a person believes in God, or canyou do this without attending religious ceremonies. It certainly seemsthat the power and influence of the Church and perhaps other organisedreligions is declining in Britain if the statistics are anything to goby. Sunday Schools were another recruiting ground for the Church they were extremely popular in the late nineteenthcentury and remained so until the middle of the twentieth century. Thenumber of attendees at Sunday School is now only ten percent of thenumber in 1900 (Bruce, 1995). The next question is how has thisinfluenced the institutions themselves. At the same time This involves an examination of the extent to which religiousorganisations are involved in the day to day secular order in anysociety and to what extent they are able to exert control over thatsociety. Signs of the growth of secularisation include the following,declining membership of the established Churches, declining numbers ofpeople who are willing to make religion their vocation, and the closingof churches, which in Britain are either sold off or left and allowed to fall into terminal dereliction. Historically, senior clergy were recruited from the same universities,schools and families as the government. In Britain Church of EnglandBishops were recruited largely from the peerage or landed gentry in1860. This practice has decreased and nowadays clergy often come fromthe poorer strata of society. The Protestant Church was once considereda good living but its wealth has declined and so ordinands usually haveconcerns other than material welfare, it has become a low statusoccupation. In Britain there was a marked decline in the number ofChurch of England ordinands between 1900 and 1988 (Bruce, 1995). Thisstarted happening much later in Ireland, and at a much slower pace. With the apparent decline in church membership and the marked declinein the number of both Church of England and Roman Catholic ordinandsthe requirement for church buildings has diminished. This has largelyaffected the Anglican Church and in some cases other Protestant denominations. The trend for closingchurches is less marked in the Roman Catholic Church. It could be thatthe Catholics were not so prolific in their church building as theAnglicans were or that they have greater funding capacity formaintaining large buildings. Nevertheless it is not uncommon nowadays,in Britain particularly, to see Church buildings sold off and used aspubs or as retail outlets or warehouses. This has not yet been the case inIreland, particularly the Irish republic, where much of the land andbuildings are still the property of the Catholic church and remainsunder the churchs control. In Britain, between 1970 and 1998 1250 church buildings were closedor sold off. Religion itself appears to be changing, becomingsecularised, it is less likely to provide a lead for people and moreinclined to follow trends than to set them (Browne, 1998).Browne (1998)shows that while the influence of the Anglican Church has declined, andmay continue to do so, the Church still remains important in a numberof ways. Church of England Bishops have seats in the House of Lords. (The Lords Spiritual). Themonarch must be a member of the Church of England, is crowned by theArchbishop of Canterbury, and since the time of Henry V111 has beenhead of the Church of England and Defender of the Faith. The Church of England remains the official or established Church in England. The Church of England is extremely wealthy, with investment funds ofan estimated 3 billion in 1991, and it is one of the largestlandowners in the country. Since the 1944 Education Act, all schools have been legally obligedto hold a religious ceremony each day, and the 1988 Education ReformAct reaffirmed and strengthened the requirements to hold assemblies ofa broadly Christian nature and teach Christian beliefs for at least 51percent of the time allocated to religion in schools. This still leaves us with the question of whether religious belief is affected by the growth in secularisation. How much influence does religion have in the areas of personalbelief and practice, and how does one measure peoples beliefs?Sociologists identify this type of measuring as a problem and many admit that there is no clear picture ofwhether, and to what extent, secularisation has occurred in this area.One of the problems stems from the different understandings people haveof such a belief. For numbers of people it may be agreement to all ofthe teachings of Christianity, for others a general belief in God andfor some it might be a spiritual awareness and a sense of meaning andpurpose to life. In Ireland, religious belief is closely allied topolitical matters and people are far more inclined to state that theybelong to a particular tradition, in this way they define not onlytheir religion, but also their political and national loyalties. In Britain one way of estimating trends in religious believing is tolook at the rise in the number of New Religious movements, the rise ofthe Black led C hurches and the rise in the number of House Churches.There has also been a considerable growth in other forms of evangelicalChristianity and most people in Britain still claim a belief in God.. Bruce (1995) argues that the face of organised religion over the lasttwo hundred years has changed from a dominant Church model to thegrowth of the sect and the denomination (Bruce, 1995). This has been brought about by the riseof cultural pluralism and the reluctance of governments to use force toget people into a state Church. Although the churches were slow torelinquish their privileges the role of the Anglican, Scottish, and Welsh Churches have changed considerable sincethe 19th century, in Britain for example in 1828 a person who heldpublic office was, at least officially, a member of the Anglican faith. Non-members could not holdpublic office. Catholics were not allowed the vote before 1829 (Bruce,1995) and it was 1850 before the Church was allowed to restore its hierarchy. Until 1836 marriagescould only be celebrated by an Anglican minister, irrespective of thefaith of the marriage partners and until 1854 non-Anglicans were not allowed to study at Oxford andCambridge, and unti 1871 all teaching posts at these institutions wereheld by Anglicans. Women were not allowed to be members of thesecolleges before the late 1890s. With each of these changes the Churchof England lost some of its power in society. Bruce (1995) holds that Protestantism by its very nature increases fragmentation inreligion and by extension in society. The rise of the ecumenicalmovement also played a part in the Churchs loss of power. Fragmentation undermines the Church, it has state support for areligious monopoly and this has gradually been removed, this also hasfunding implications, until the nineteenth century the Churches werefunded by the land they owned and by public taxation, this was largelyfinished by the start of the twentieth century. Secondly its personnelbecome increasingly influenced by the psychology of an increasinglypluralist culture. It is not so easy to believe that a religion isright in every detail when other worldviews are becoming more prominent. At the same time the Church retains an illusion of strength from the continuation of communal occasions such as baptisms, weddings and funerals. However, the growth in competition means that this illusion becomes increasingly difficult to maintain (Bruce, 1995). The rise inthe number of denominations eventually increases tolerance anddecreases certainty. The problems that different denominations beenmight be said to constitute a significant feature of the situation in Ireland, particularly as it pertains to education. In Northern Ireland, beginning in the 1980s integrated systems ofeducation were introduced and this caused a deal of controversy centredaround conflicting interests (Dunn, 1989). The Belfast Agreement of1998 set out guidelines for the promotion of religious and culturaltolerance and it is thought by some commentators that this was directly linked to the Good Friday Agreement (Morgan and Fraser, 1999).Since the Good Friday Agreement some thinkers have argued that there isan increasing secularization in Ireland and that liberals in the Northmay be considering replicating the multi-faith educational model thatoperates in the rest of Britain. This has led to vigorous debate anddiscussion of the differences between Britain and Ireland (Barnes,2004). Although numbers of commentators contend that there is a growingsecularization, in Ireland in the 1991 census 84% claimed to attendchurch at least once a week. In a survey undertaken in the south ofIreland Greil (1998) found the following listed in the table on thenext page. Table One weekly mass attendance in the Republic of Ireland 1981-1998 Year%CommentsSource 199894%older peopleSurvey of Diocese of Cashel and Emly published in Irish Times 199892%People over 65MRBI poll for Irish Times 198187%all peopleEuropean Values Survey 199887%Connacht/Ulster peopleMRBI poll for Irish Times 199085%all peopleEuropean Values Survey 1988/8982%all peopleMac Gril (1996) 199866%all peopleMRBI poll for Irish Times 199860%People 18-34Survey of Diocese of Cashel and Emly published in Irish Times 199860%all peopleRTE Prime Time poll 199850%DublinersMRBI poll for Irish Times 199841%18-24 yr oldsMRBI poll for Irish Times 199040%Urban unemployedEuropean Values Survey While this does show a rapid decline, particularly among the young,for Father Greil the fact that only one percent of his sample professedno religion at all, still leaves him optimistic about the place of religion in Irish life. Greil is of the opinion that there is a lack of community feeling in the cities and that the rapid growth in urbanization is a significant factor in the decline in church attendance. While there does seem to be a decline in participation in organisedreligion in both contemporary Britain and in Ireland, many people stillclaim to hold orthodox beliefs and a moral judgement based on thetenets of Christianity. At the same time they do not have so muchattraction to institutional forms of religions (Bruce, 1995 and Browne,1998). The nineteen sixties saw rapid social and religious change. In theyears after the war, the rise of the welfare state, the growth in thenumber of Catholic Grammar Schools and the resulting rise in the numberof Catholics to enter Higher Education spurred a transformation inBritish Catholicism. This eventually led, in the 1960s to the holdingof the Second Vatican Council and the resultant Catholic alignment withthe ecumenical movement. By the end of the decade most people owned a television and programmessuch as That was the Week That Was took an irreverent view of religion.This, along with the sixties sexual revolution, brought changingattitudes towards the Church and to peoples attitudes to religiousauthority. The media was highly influential on the Churchs publicimage and became far more critical of outdated morality. What went onin America had a greater influence on what happened in Britain. Thesuccess of the civil rights movement in the mid-nineteen sixties openedthe way for second-wave feminism and the call for womens rights. Theabortion reform act of 1967 meant that women had more rights over their own body and the employmentdiscrimination act of the mid-nineteen seventies meant that other thanin the Church employers could not discriminate on the basis of sex. Thelate 1960s also saw the burgeoning of feminist theologies. These havedeveloped and changed over the last thirty years and have become achallenge to patriarchal systems across the world. Divorce law reformsaw a huge increase in the number of divorces and traditionalists sawthis as a threat to the institute of marriage and the structure of thefamily. The rise of the Gay Christian movement and the aids threatsfrom the 1980s onward meant an overall rethinking and debate onpersonal morality within the chuches (Parsons, 1993). As stated earlier Brewer (2005) contends that what is happening inIreland is very different to what has happened in Britain and ratherthan the secularisation of Ireland what we are seeing is the move to apost-Christian society. What Brewer means by this is: the declining ability of Christian religion to affect and shapeordinary believers lives, a growing liberalisation in what ordinaryChristians believe and in the certainty with which they believe it, andthe appearance of other world faiths, still admittedly very much asminority religions, but a presence that nonetheless challenges theChristian hegemony. Religious diversity and pluralism now has to caterfor differences in practice and belief between the world religions notjust Catholic and Protestant (Brewer, 2005:7). Sociologists use divorce statistics, abortion and homosexuality figuresto sustain the argument that secularisation is on the increase. Theyuse this evidence to suggest that these factors are a result of thedeclining importance of religious thinking and teaching in peopleslives. In Britain many people have a pick and mix attitude towards religious believing and more than half of all marriages are nowcivil or non-religious ceremonies.From the 1950s onward Ireland haswitnessed an increasing industrialization through urbanization and agrowth in the number of people employed in both the industrial, ratherthan the agricultural sector, and in higher education. Religion hasbeen a key factor in Ireland and, since the 1970s, an increasing causeof conflict between Catholic and Protestant groups (OLeary, 2001).Brewer (2005) has argued that the conflict has not been about religionas such but about identity and political loyalty. Religion is not the substance of this conflict; no one seriouslyargues that the conflict has been about religion. But religion is itsform, the way in which it is experienced. The contestation has beenabout the legitimacy of the state and access to its scarce resources,but this took on a religious form because Catholic and Protestantwere the terms used to understand and describe the nature of thegroups.(Brewer, 2005:1). Brewer (2005) maintains that Ireland should not be viewed as a secularsociety because unlike Britain, where religion is a private matter, inIreland it is still very much in the public arena, thus, he argues,Ireland should be seen as a post-Christian, rather than a secularsociety. Ireland is, like Italy, Spain and France a Catholic country,unlike these countries however, Ireland has not been in involved in thepower of the Papacy. This has meant that any claims regardingsecularization in Ireland have quite different roots to these otherCatholic countries. Ireland became an independent state for a number of reasons, not leastof these being its struggles against the power of Anglicanism and itspersecution of the Catholic Church. There is thus a much closerconnection between Church and state in Ireland and all those this hasbeen continually modified it basically has remained unchanged (Doyle, 2005). Since the 1920s successive Irish governments have raisedno serious challenges to the rulings of the Church in fact in 1938 whenthe Irish Constitution was drafted, the Church had specific input whichis why both abortion and divorce have been illegal in Ireland. In factuntil 1996 divorce was almost impossible in the republic of Ireland. The Constitution also contains a clause which decrees that a womansplace is in the home bringing up children . In 1951 a high court judgeruled that in failed mixed marriages, and contrary to what was commonpractice at the time, the custody of any children would automaticallygo to the mother if she was a Catholic (Browne, 1998).. Although thehold of the Church has weakened somewhat over the last 15 years orsothe Government still fails to speak out against the Church and hasheld referendums on both divorce and abortion law, in this way the onusis on the people to decide, thus absolving the Government of theresponsibility of challenging the Church. The 1992 referendums were theresult of a highly publicized case that revolved around a 14 year old rape victim being refused permission to travel to Britain for anabortion. The right to travel was upheld by the electorate but abortionin Ireland was still nigh on impossible and any doctor who performedone under 1996 amendments to the constitu tion could be struck off(Girvin, 1996). In the republic of Ireland, up until 1993 93.1% of primary schoolswere Roman Catholic and almost three quarters of secondary schoolstudents attended denominational schools (Clarke, 1998). Clearly theamount of influence that the Catholic Church had over the state inIreland resulted in a lot of inequalities. Rulings on education in the 1970s that removed the previous separation between religious and secular knowledge in the schools may have appeared more egalitarian butin actual fact it infringed the rights of Protestant parents to havetheir children opt out of religious instruction (Hyland, 1996).Kissane (2000) contends that in the state of Ireland the educationalsystem discriminates against the rights of non-Catholic parents to havetheir child educated in non-denominational or mixed denominationschools. Up to 1998 the State did not fully fund the establishment of primaryschools, butexpected the sites and 15 per cent of the new schoolscapital cost to be funded privately. In areas where a new school wasneeded, it became customary for the Catholic Church to organise thefinancing of such schools, and to provide a site, often from its ownlands. This system placed those small groups of parents in urban areaswhich wanted multi-denominational education for their children at adisadvantage, since they lacked church support (Kissane, 2000:13). . The new Education Bill of 1997 allowed for greater toleration ofmulti-denominational schools in the republic of Ireland (Kissane,2000). Brewer (2004) contends that in Ulster secularization, associologists understand it, could not yet be said to be taking place.Earlier theorists e.g. Bowen (1983) would have questioned thisassumption. As we have seen earlier inter-religious marriage is asource of concern to many and an inhibiting factor in the move towardsa united Ireland are the number of inter-religious marriages inNorthern Ireland. Many fear that if the country were united then thepartners involved in these marriages would face persecution (Guardian,May 1994). In 2002 a survey was undertaken in Northern Ireland to discover whetherProtestant and Presbyterian respondents thought most people wouldobject to a close relative marrying someone of another religion 34% ofChurch of Ireland members thought that most people would not mind while 25% thought that most peoplewould mind a lot. The replies from Protestants and Presbyterians werevery similar to this but this was in contrast to a survey undertaken in1989 when 48% of Church of Ireland respondents said that people wouldmind a lot. Respondents were then asked whether they themselves would mind if a close relative married someone of adifferent religion two thirds of Church of Ireland respondents saidthat they would not mind and only 13% replied that they would mind alot. The number of Protestants and Presbytarians who said they wouldmind a lot was slightly higher than this making Church of Irelandrespondents somewhat more tolerant of inter-religious marriage. Theresults are shown in the tables below. Table 2 Most People would mind a close relative marrying someone of a different religion 19892002 C. of IrelandPresProtC. of IrelandPresProt Would mind a lot483741252626 Would mind a little284034333334 Would not mind161818343534 Dont know956767 Table 3 Respondent would mind a close relative marrying someone of a different religion 19892002 C.of IrelandPresProtC. of IrelandPresProt Would mind a lot212525131515 Would mind a little291821162118 Would not mind475553666162 Dont know122435 Clearly positions with regard to inter-religious marriages haveshifted somewhat. Although this survey did not give personal detailssuch as the age of the respondents it does seem reasonable to suggestthat as Greils survey found that church attendance among 18-24 yearolds had declined rapidly in recent years, the change in attitudestowards inter-religious marriage could also be a factor of differentgenerational attitudes. White (2000) contends that there is a change inIrish national identity, particularly among the young and that this hasbeen characterized by a loss of faith in the traditional teachings ofthe Church. White sees this as a sign that Ireland is rapidly becomingsecularized. the Catholic Church has been challenged by internal scandal andgrowing loss of faith, especially among the youth of Ireland (Dillon1998). This secularisation has tended to undermine the fusion ofnationalism and religion that OBrien (1988) has cited as being a vitalaspect of Irish nationalism in the past century ( cited in White,2000:4).. OConaill (2002) says that the disaffection of young people over the scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church may be attributable to the failure ofthe Second Vatican Council to make any reference to the accountabilityof clergy to the people they serve. O Conaill maintains that this canonly be alleviated in the following ways: given the other major problems of the church just now, nothing lessthan a comprehensive structural reform of the church can meet thesituation, involving some kind of separation of administrative andpastoral functions, as well as proper lay representation at the highestlevel. The safety of Catholic children, and even the continuity of thefaith, also demand formal and permanent lay parish structures, togetherwith rights of regular assembly for all the faithful, at parish,diocesan and (eventually) national level (OConaill, 2002 no page no).. It is obvious that there have been significant changes in bothNorthern Ireland and in the Irish Republic in recent years. Somecommentators put this down to the processes of secularization whileother thinkers such as Brewer (2005) that what is being witnessed inIreland is not secularization, rather how people see religion ischanging and Ireland might best be described as having post-Christiantendencies. However, a 2003 conference report from University Collegein Dublin tends to take the view that what is happening in Ireland is acompletely different phenomena. Secularisation, it is argued, is notyet taking place in Ireland. Rather the changes that are beingwitnessed are rather the fact that: While economic modernisation in the south and political reconstruction inthe north have changed the context in which religion now operates inIreland, the reality is that in both parts of the island levels ofreligious belief and practice are extremelyhigh by comparison with therest of western Europe. It is also clear that religion has not yetretreated solely into the private sphere and has retained much of itssignificance at the level of social life and political culture(Coonference Report, 2003:1).. Certainly in the 1990s what had been a rather poverty strichen placebecame a booming economic success that has since become known as theCeltic Tiger and in recent years has become one of the richest statesin the European Union. This has resulted in a demographic shift wherethe population has shifted from becoming predominantly emigrant oroutgoing to immigrant and incoming. Crotty (1998) maintains that: In the late 1950s, out-migration of the population ran about 15percent. By the decade of the 1970s, this had been reversed with anin-migration rate of +4.3 percent. The recession of the 1980s saw areturn to a substantial out-migration flow (-7.6%). By the mid to late1990s it has been estimated that in-migration is running at +2.0percent with the likelihood of continued increase for the foreseeablefuture. Certainly these things are changing the face of Irish society butare they changing its unique position with regard to religion? It seemsclear that religions place in Ireland is still more central than inmost of Europe even with its becoming an increasingly plural societythe religious influence is still largely authoritarian. Crotty (1998)argues that while the role of the Catholic Church is changing inresponse to scandals within the Church and a lessening of its influenceover the state, the religious commitment of individuals remains fairlystrong. Hornby-Smith and Whelan 1994 contend that: the Catholic Church can take satisfaction from the extent to whichIrish society has remained insulated from secularisationinfluences..confidence in its ability to provide solutions to problemsin a variety of areas is relatively low and has declined over the pastdecade. At the same time there is clear majority support for the viewthat it is appropriate for the church to speak out on a wide range ofsocial and moral issues. The evidence relating to the younger cohortsdoes suggest the possibility that, after a time lag of some decades,Irish Catholics will be seen to come significantly closer to westernEuropean norms. (1994, 43). So is Ireland a secular society, a post-Christian society, or a uniquely religious society? This study has investigated the secularisation process and whether thisis occurring in Ireland. It has done this by making comparisons withwhat has happened in Britain and in the wider European context. It doesnot seem to be the case that secularisation, in the way that socialtheorists understand it, is taking place in Ireland. Nor would Iparticularly agree with Brewers argument that what is being witnessedin Ireland is not secularisation but the emergence of a post-Christiansociety-although there may be a case for revisiting this issue in thefuture. What I believe this study evidences is that Ireland is a uniquecase and that because of the ways in which religion has been so closelyconnected to politics and to policy making, religion, and particularlythe Christian religion is a prominent feature of Irish life. ThusIreland could neither be said to be succumbing to secularisation norentering a post-Christian era, rather Ireland demonstrates thattheories cannot always account for social processes. The process ofsecularisation, particularly as it pertains to the Irish context, hasnot taken hold in the way that numbers of theorists have predicted thatit would. Religion remains a prominent feature af many societies acrossthe globe. The theory has been unable to account for the significantsocial and cultural changes that are occurring and this is particularlythe case in Ireland. Hyland, Aine, The multi-denominational experience, in ConstitutionReview Group, Report of the Constitution Review Group (Dublin,Stationers Office), 1996. _________ and Christopher T. Whelan, 1994. Religious and MoralValues, pp. 7-44 in Christopher T. Whelan (ed), Values and SocialChange. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. Bowen, K. 1983 Protestants in a Catholic State:Irelands Privileged Minority, Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. Brewer, J. 2004 Continuity and change in contemporary UlsterProtestantism The Sociological Review Volume 52 Issue 2 Page 265 -May 2004 Browne, Noel, Church and State in Modern Ireland in Murphy, T. and Twomey, Patrick (eds.), Bruce, S. 1992 (ed.) Religion and Bruce, S. 1995 Religion in the Modern World London, Routledge Building Trust in Ireland: Studies Commissioned by the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, Belfast: Blackstaff Press. Clarendon Press. Cotty, W. 1998 The Celtic Tiger: Economic Modernization and ItsSocial and Political Ramifications in IrelandEuropean F ederation ofAssociations and Centres of Irish Studies (EFACIS) Paper given at theInaugural ConferenceAspects of Ireland: Yesterday and TodayUniversityCharles-de-Gaulle Lille Lille, France December 11-12, 1998 Darby, 1976). Conflict in Northern Ireland: The Development of a Polarised Community Dublin, Gill and Macmillan Doyle, P. 2005 Visit by Pope Benedict XVI here not the best way to go Dunn, S.1989 Integrated schools in Northern Ireland Oxford Review of Education 15, (3) p. 121-127 Girvin, B. Church, state and the Irish constitution: the secularisation of Irish politics Greil, M. 1998 Prejudice in Ireland Revisited: Based on a NationalSurvey of Intergroup Attitudes in the Republic of Ireland Maynooth,National University of Ireland. Hornsby-Smith, Michael P., 1994. Social and Religious Transformationin Ireland: A Case of Secularisation? pp. 265-290 in J. H. Goldthorpeand C. T. Whelan (eds), The Development of Industrial Society inIreland. Oxford: Oxford University Press. in the pop ulation of the minority religious communities in the Republic of Ireland in Irelands Evolving Constitution 1937-1997: Collected Essays (Oxford, Hart Publishing 1998), Irish Independent Sunday April 24th 2005 Kennelly, Brendan, and Ward, Elis, The Abortion Referendums inGallagher, Michael, and Laver, Michael, How Ireland Voted 1992 (Dublin:Folens PSAI Press, 1993), pp.115-134. Kissane, Bill. Majority Rule and the Stabilisation of Democracy in the Irish Free State Irish Political Studies, 13, 1998. Martin, D. 1978 A General Theory of Secularization, Oxford: Blackwell. McLeod, H. 1992 Secular cities? Berlin, London, and New York in thelate nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in S.Bruce (ed.)Religion and Modernization: Sociologists and Historians Debate theSecularization Modernization: Sociologists and Historians Debate the Secularization Thesis, Oxford: Morgan and Fraser, 1999 When does good news become bad news:Relationships between the Government the integrated schools in Northe rnIreland British Journal of Educational Studies Vol 47 No. 4 December1999 p. 364-379 OLeary, R. 2001 Modernisation and Inter-religious Marriage in theRepublic of Ireland The British Journal of Sociology Volume 52 Issue 4Page 647 December 2001 Parliamentary Affairs, 49:4,1996, pp.599-615. Clarke, Desmond M.,Education, the State, and Sectarian Schools Murphy, T. and Twomey, pp.41-51. Professor John D Brewer, MRIA, AcSS, FRSA 2005 Ensuring equality ofreligion and belief in Northern Ireland:new challenges Public lectureto the ESRC/Northern Ireland Equality Commission joint seminar, PublicPolicy, Equality and Diversity in the Context of Devolution. EqualityHouse, Belfast, 18 February 2005 Sexton, J. J. and OLeary, R. 1996 An Analysis of the factors affecting the decline Thesis, Oxford: Clarendon Press. White, J. 1975 Minority Report: The Protestant Community in the Irish Republic, Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. White, T. 2000 Celts, Conquest, and Conflicting Identities in Ireland Celtic Cultural Studies 2000 Ireland Wilson, B. 1982 Religion in Sociological Perspective, Oxford: Oxford University Press