More than 90 per cent of people were Catholic, now it is down to less than 80%.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said a dramatic fall in the birth rate has been accompanied by an increase in the proportion of children born outside wedlock.
The marriage rate has dropped and more are opting for civil rather than church ceremonies.
More have taken advantage of education opportunities.
Living standards for some have soared, Dublin is among the most expensive cities in Europe due to price inflation in housing, but the problem of homelessness has worsened in recent years.
In 1979, 2.7 million people turned out to greet John Paul II and heard him warn of the danger of growing materialism and secularism in a changing world.
Those phenomena have continued apace, in common with much of Western Europe.
Maynooth College, where aspiring clerics study, was once one of the world’s busiest and helped send Irish missionaries around the world to spread the faith.
The number studying for the priesthood has reduced substantially over recent decades, with the average age of a priest around 70.
Social values have also changed, demonstrated by a series of popular votes for liberalisation, which passed despite religious opposition.
In 1995 Ireland decided by referendum to allow divorce.
Subsequent history has disproved contemporaneous claims that it would lead to husbands deserting their…
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