Religious affect and personal happiness: are there significant differences between Catholic adolescents in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland?

Francis, Leslie J.; Byrne, Gareth; Sweetman, Bernadette

doi:10.1007/s40839-020-00095-6

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…If we place this result against the findings from Theme 1, it is interesting to note that while 87% said they believe in God, 95% of the same group said that they belonged to the Catholic denomination. In other words, c. 8% of participants say they are Catholic but do not believe in God, echoing the findings of Francis et al (2019). They found that of the 16-19 year olds in Ireland who identified as Catholic, 44% were either uncertain that God exists or fairly sure God does not exist or completely confident that God does not exist.…”

Section: Theme 2: Images and Understandings Of Godmentioning

confidence: 55%

“…Over two-thirds saw their grandparent(s) at least once a week and 88% had a close relationship with at least one grandparent. Francis et al (2019) note that 90% of those who cite their religious identity as being important to them recognise that religion is also important to their grandparents and see them as vital in the passing on of faith. It is not surprising, then, that almost 25% of respondents in this study cited their grandparents as having a significant influence on their religious identity, with comments such as 'My grandparents go to mass every day and they go every Sunday, so they always influenced me' (Student 14).…”

Section: Theme 2: Images and Understandings Of Godmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Will There Be Teachers? An Analysis of the Congruence of Religious Beliefs of Initial Teacher Education Students and the Patron’s (Religious Education) Programme for Catholic Schools

O’Connell,

Harmon,

Meehan

2023

Religions

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For historical reasons, the vast majority of primary schools in the Republic of Ireland are under the patronage of the Catholic church. Patronage involves a number of responsibilities, including the provision of a Patron’s Programme. Traditionally in the form of Religious Education (RE), such programmes should satisfy the curricular requirement for religious/ethical education and act as an expression of school ethos. In order to meet this responsibility, the Irish Episcopal conference in 2015 published its first curriculum in Religious Education, which forms the basis for the Grow in Love programme for pupils from Junior Infants to Sixth Class in all Catholic primary schools. However, effective teaching and learning of RE is dependent on the ‘buy in’ of those teaching it. The religious beliefs, understandings, and practices of those teaching RE are influential in this regard. Drawing from the data of a large-scale, multi-phase study, this paper describes the religious identity and beliefs of first-year students entering an Initial Teacher Education programme in Ireland—in this case, the Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree—to qualify as primary-level teachers. It situates the data in the wider context of religious identity and beliefs in Ireland and goes on to explore how the religious profiles of these students fit with the required understanding, knowledge and ability to teach Religious Education in Catholic schools. Findings indicate that the majority of these students identify as Catholic and believe in God. For most, God is important in their lives. However, there is a complexity to these beliefs, with a significant number who do not know what to think. This paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for the teaching of Religious Education and for the patrons of Catholic schools.

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Section: Theme 2: Images and Understandings Of Godmentioning

confidence: 55%

Section: Theme 2: Images and Understandings Of Godmentioning

confidence: 99%

Will There Be Teachers? An Analysis of the Congruence of Religious Beliefs of Initial Teacher Education Students and the Patron’s (Religious Education) Programme for Catholic Schools

O’Connell,

Harmon,

Meehan

2023

Religions

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“…Their study reported a significant positive correlation between religious affect and personal happiness. In their recent review of subsequent research building on this foundation study, Francis et al (2020a) identified studies employing the same two instruments amongst seven further samples that all confirmed the finding from the original study: 212 undergraduate students in the United States of America (Francis & Lester 1997), 295 individuals ranging in age from late teens to late 70s in England (Francis & Robbins 2000), 994 secondary school students aged 15-16 years in England , 496 members of the University of the Third Age in England , 456 undergraduate students in Wales , 89 undergraduate students in Wales (Francis, Robbins & White 2003) and 3848 students aged 16-19 years in the Republic of Ireland (Francis & Lewis 2016).…”

Section: Empirical Theology and Positive Psychologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Cathedrals as agents of psychological health and well-being within secular societies: Assessing the impact of the Holly Bough service in Liverpool Cathedral

Francis

Jones

2020

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies

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This study is designed to test the hypothesis that events like the Holly Bough service held in Liverpool Cathedral on the fourth Sunday of Advent that attracts a wide range of participants, including regular churchgoers and occasional (sometimes annual) visitors, contribute significantly to the psychological health and well-being of these participants. At the Holly Bough service held in 2019, a total of 383 participants (139 men, 229 women and 15 individuals who preferred anonymity) completed a recognised measure of psychological health and well-being (the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire) whilst they were waiting for the service to begin and again during a 5-min organ improvisation just before the close of the service. The data demonstrated a significantly higher score on the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire at time 2 than at time 1, suggesting that the experience of the service functioned as an agent of psychological health and well-being.Contribution: Situated within the science of cathedral studies, this paper confirms by means of a repeated-measure study that cathedrals promote psychological health; 383 participants at a Christmas service completed the same well-being measure before and after the service, with a significant increase in scores at time two.

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“…Recent decades have seen culture and society in both jurisdictions embrace a greater diversity and plural reality as has been seen elsewhere (Kieran 2019;Anderson, Byrne, and Cullen 2016). The separate provision for Catholic and Protestant students in schools, and the growing need to provide for those of other religions and worldviews has created a notable challenge to the school systems, North and South (Francis et al 2020;Byrne 2018;Coll 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Opening up adult religious education and faith development in Ireland: the AREFD project

Byrne

Sweetman

2021

British Journal of Religious Education

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This study reports on findings from an online survey which was carried out in Ireland, in May-June 2019, as part of the Adult Religious Education and Faith Development (AREFD) research project being conducted at the Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education, Dublin City University. Data provided by 738 respondents to the survey are reported upon in this paper. The three areas focused on are the profile of the respondents, the content areas and skills in religious education and faith development they said they would like to engage with, and the forms and modes of delivery they preferred. The key findings point to the importance of identity, influence, and language, the broad and diverse interests expressed by participants, and the preferences they indicated for blended learning, evening engagement during the week, and local discussion groups. The findings of the study will be beneficial to those involved in developing new and creative approaches to adult religious education and faith development.

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Religious affect and personal happiness: are there significant differences between Catholic adolescents in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland?

Abstract: Please refer to published version for the most recent bibliographic citation information. If a published version is known of, the repository item page linked to above, will contain details on accessing it.

Cited by 5 publications

References 67 publications

Will There Be Teachers? An Analysis of the Congruence of Religious Beliefs of Initial Teacher Education Students and the Patron’s (Religious Education) Programme for Catholic Schools

Will There Be Teachers? An Analysis of the Congruence of Religious Beliefs of Initial Teacher Education Students and the Patron’s (Religious Education) Programme for Catholic Schools

Cathedrals as agents of psychological health and well-being within secular societies: Assessing the impact of the Holly Bough service in Liverpool Cathedral

Opening up adult religious education and faith development in Ireland: the AREFD project

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