With First Holy Communion season now at an end, debate has turned to whether the tradition will stay mainstream for much longer.
Every census, the number of people in Ireland ticking the box next to Roman Catholic drops.
On Newstalk Daily, Dr Maedbh King of Trinity College said the place of First Holy Communion in modern Ireland is one she has spent some time reflecting on in recent months.
Her young children were born in America, but now they are back in Ireland, she has begun to consider what kind of cultural environment they will grow up in.
“We may end up sending our kids to Catholic school just by the virtue of geographical proximity,” she said.
“Most of the schools in this country are Catholic schools - 90% of them - and so, we might not have a choice.”
A First Holy Communion ceremony. Picture by: Alamy.com. Neither Dr King or her partner are religious and they have no intention of raising their children in a faith.
Despite this, their primary school is likely to devote a substantial number of hours to First Holy Communion preparations - something they will have the choice of opting out of.
“My personal view really is that all of this preparation should be taking place outside of school hours, as it's done in all European countries,” Dr King said.
“We're really an exception there; I think it's something that should sit within the parish, within the family organisation.
“It shouldn't be done within schools at all.”
A First Holy Communion ceremony. Picture by: Alamy.com. Dr King said that many families still want to mark childhood milestones and that there is a growing trend towards “secular alternatives to these religious ceremonies”, with people opting for naming ceremonies over baptisms.
“I know of a few families who are doing those this year in response to Communion season,” she said.
“They have some really lovely ceremonies where they co-create it with their kids; their kids maybe work on an art project over the course of the year.
“They might do community service events; they might create poetry and then the families all come together.
“They come together in a ceremony, they do something deeply reflective, they involve the parents and the children.”
Main image: Catholic boys and girls receiving the sacrament of First Holy Communion. Picture by: Alamy.com.
