Since being called to Ireland a few years ago I have found people here to have probably the most Christian approach to life of all the countries I have lived in.
Even though Protestants, and evangelicals in particular, are a very small minority in the Republic away from Dublin, there is a generally a strong spiritual awareness, high rates of churchgoing, strong intergenerational commitment between children, parents and grandparents, and a culture of practicing ‘love your neighbour’ by active engagement.
As in the UK and elsewhere, Covid-19 has been a major disruptor of church life – with most evangelical churches going online and most Roman Catholic churches broadcasting Mass live on websites such as www. churchservices.tv (we might learn something from them?). The Irish Government dealt with the pandemic relatively effectively. However, unlike the UK and many EU states, the government has not accepted that the right to practice religion in community means that churches and fellowships must be allowed to continue to meet (with suitable precautions). As Mark Loughridge of New Life Fellowship, Letterkenny, a leading evangelical pastor, says: ‘Christians in Ireland have endured the longest ban on church services in Europe, and were deeply saddened at the government taking the unprecedented step of clearly criminalising worship in April [2021]. Several organisations and denominations issued statements calling on the government to repeal this legislation and to relax restrictions.’
Ireland is drifting from its Catholic roots. There is increasing materialism, and in the last three years a referendum removed the constitutional right to life for children before birth, and the government legislated to mandate a secular ethos when teaching on gender identity, sexual orientation and sexual morality – even in church schools.
However, there is often a positive side to such developments. Many leaders are greatly encouraged by the number of people joining in services online, and have found that evangelistic and teaching courses such as Alpha, the Prayer Course and the Marriage Course have attracted more participants online than they did when run in churches. Plus, local evangelical leaders of nearly all denominations have been meeting online regularly to pray together. Nationwide, times of prayer were attended by significant numbers of people from a wide variety of churches. As Loughridge said: ‘Covid has brought us together for prayer in ways we would never have thought! Also encouraging is the number of new churches planted or moving towards planting during lockdown! God is at work here!’
