LEICESTER, United Kingdom – As a growing sign of the falling influence of Catholicism in Ireland, a new study shows only 35 percent of marriages took place in the Church last year, a drop from over 90 percent of marriages just 20 years ago.

Published by the Iona Institute, the study said many couples are now marring in civil ceremonies, but many – “incredibly almost a quarter” – are happening in “New Age” settings.

“This is not a phenomenon confined to Dublin or even to other urban areas although the drop is most dramatic in the capital. There were 2,898 opposite-sex weddings in Dublin City (not to be confused with greater Dublin) in 2023. Only 263 of those ceremonies were Catholic, about 9 percent. This is partly explained by the high immigrant population in Dublin City plus the more secular nature of the capital city,” writes Breda O’Brien in “The rapid rise of ‘New Age’ weddings in Ireland: How should the Churches respond?”

There are three options for getting married in Ireland: A civil ceremony, a religious ceremony that includes ‘spiritual’/New Age weddings, or a secular ceremony via the Humanist Association.

The definition of ‘religion’ for the purpose of conducting religious ceremonies is broad, and includes the Spiritualist Union of Ireland.

“Interestingly, neither a civil nor a secular ceremony may contain any reference to religion or spirituality. However, there remains a strong desire for ritual and spiritual symbols, which is now being funnelled in the direction of so-called ‘other religious denominations’ … which carried out 16 percent of all weddings in 2023,” the report says.

Although religious denominations defined by the State include small Evangelical and Pentecostal Churches, as well as a few dozen Muslim weddings, it also names parties of recent origin and are not denominations in the way we would recognize the term.

“For example, one of the groups that comes under this heading is called ‘Entheos.’ It was only established by founder, Karen Dempsey – also known as ‘the Bald Priestess’ – during the COVID lockdown of 2020 and submitted to the Office of the Registrar General as an ‘inclusive, non-denominational religion’. The organization now has 65 celebrants,” reads the Iona Institute documents.

“Would-be celebrants have to commit to challenging ‘heteronormativity, racism and homophobia.’ In 2023, Entheos carried out 623 weddings, far more than the 242 that the Church of Ireland celebrated. Another provider, FuturFaith, also celebrated its first wedding only in 2021 but conducted 78 weddings last year,” it continues.

The document quotes interfaith minister Rev. Brenda O’Grady.

“Those who follow [modern Spiritualism] are united in believing that communication with spirits is possible. Spiritualists communicate with the spirits of people who have physically died,” she said.

The report on New Age weddings explained it is not at all clear that people taking part in Spiritualist religious ceremonies share these beliefs, but said it is a fascinating development that the single biggest providers of such alternative ceremonies believe in and advocate for communication with the spirits of the dead.”

It also noted that while increasing secularization and the impact of several decades of sexual abuse scandals are implicated in the drop in Catholic weddings, there are also several commercial drivers of the phenomenon.

“Carl O’Brien of the Irish Times said, ‘Hotels, castles and country houses [were] queuing up to cash in on changes to marriage laws.’ Couples seeking a venue for their wedding reception are routinely nudged towards having the ceremony in the hotel or other venue, as a kind of one-stop shop. The hotel will then typically refer them on to one of the ‘New’ Age’ organisations listed in the table on page 3. This is crucial to understanding what is taking place,” the study says.

The document says the new phenomenon is raising questions for Christian Churches.

“Why are people drawn to these ceremonies? What impact is it having on traditional Christian belief? And is there anything the Churches can do to encourage more couples to participate in Christian marriage? There is an argument that perhaps it is more honest for people who do not truly embrace the Christian message to choose an alternative wedding ceremony,” the report says.

“However, suppose couples are drifting into wedding ceremonies because of convenience? In that case, it represents a failure on the part of the Church to properly explain the sacramental and fundamentally transcendent nature of Christian marriage,” it continues.

“In the past, couples might have married in Church simply to keep Granny or Mammy happy. There is, however, a case to be made for parents exploring with young people why they are choosing to marry in alternative ceremonies. Parents are often reluctant to discuss sensitive matters for fear of being seen as interfering but it should be possible to have an exploratory conversation. Similarly, it is important that when people come to a parish to discuss getting married in a Catholic ceremony, they are made welcome and that the opportunity to witness is not missed,” the study says.

The Iona Institute report concludes by saying if Christians believe as Christians in the Good News of Jesus Christ, “we cannot be sanguine about so many seeking alternative meaning systems, some of which are antithetical to Christianity, at such a crucial transition time as deciding to marry, even if we allow that some are being nudged towards these ceremonies by hotels for commercial reasons.”

“It is very likely that in future, far more funerals will take place outside Churches, also in ‘New Age’ ceremonies. This is already starting to happen. The various ‘New Age’ organizations that conduct weddings also conduct funerals, ‘naming ceremonies’ and many other ceremonies besides, including even in one case, an abortion ceremony,” the author states.

Follow Charles Collins on X: @CharlesinRome