[paky]

Given that the Catholic Church has held such a dominant position in Ireland over the last century, do you think that the Church's practice of celibacy has transcened into the Irish mindset in anyway? Surely if priests, and to a lesser extent nuns, were leading figures in society their practice of celibacy must of had an impact on Irish metality in some way?

[Torakx]

Possibly a general feeling of guilt or maybe adding a taboo to sex in some unconscious ways,for those who were quite reverent of religion and the religious leaders/head figures.

In saying this i had a rebound effect form my old religion where i rebelled when i left.
They had a no sex before marriage policy that was strictly enforced,which could lead to ex-communication.
This lead to alot of youths springing back because of the repression and when let lose tried their best to get laid.It lead to alot of unplanned pregnancies due to young people not being educated about protection.
For me in my first couple of years out, all i wanted to do was have sex.

So i might wonder on some level with the church in Ireland when it started to lose its grip on the people, was there a lash back of pregnancies out of wedlock and/or some kind of small sexual revolution as a sort of spring back in rebellion to the old ways.

[krd]

Originally Posted by Torakx

Possibly a general feeling of guilt or maybe adding a taboo to sex in some unconscious ways,for those who were quite reverent of religion and the religious leaders/head figures.

There was nothing unconscious about it.

When the Catholic Church had power in Ireland - which is not such a long time ago. They really only lost their authority with the revelations of the child abuse scandals. Before that they had quite a grip.

All forms of sex, inside and outside of marriage were taboo. Sex was only allowed in marriage for procreation. Contraception was illegal up to the mid 80s. A married couple were allowed buy condoms - but they needed to get a prescription from their doctor, and they were only allowed a maximum of three in a month.

If you returned from England with condoms or any other form of contraceptives, customs officials would seize them. They might even arrest and charge you.


The nuns and priests were evil. They wanted a joyless and grey country. And they had a massive army of sadistic helpers. They warped everyone they touched. It will take generations to get over what they did.

The residual effect, is Ireland is a nation of people who are sexually dysfunctional. The European average for adults being in relationships is 60%. Whereas only 30% of Irish adults are in relationships. Even though the priests are gone, the hang ups about sex have been passed on.

[robp]

Originally Posted by krd

There was nothing unconscious about it.
When the Catholic Church had power in Ireland - which is not such a long time ago. They really only lost their authority with the revelations of the child abuse scandals. Before that they had quite a grip.

All forms of sex, inside and outside of marriage were taboo. Sex was only allowed in marriage for procreation. Contraception was illegal up to the mid 80s. A married couple were allowed buy condoms - but they needed to get a prescription from their doctor, and they were only allowed a maximum of three in a month.

If you returned from England with condoms or any other form of contraceptives, customs officials would seize them. They might even arrest and charge you.

The nuns and priests were evil. They wanted a joyless and grey country. And they had a massive army of sadistic helpers. They warped everyone they touched. It will take generations to get over what they did.

The residual effect, is Ireland is a nation of people who are sexually dysfunctional. The European average for adults being in relationships is 60%. Whereas only 30% of Irish adults are in relationships. Even though the priests are gone, the hang ups about sex have been passed on.

I presume you are a troll!

They wanted a joyless and grey country

They warped everyone they touched

The implication seems to be that 30% of the current population is too traumatised by the clergy to date Surely the incidence of relationships would say more about the structure of a population eg age, local male/female balance and isolation.

I think the OP had a very valid question but the idea of 'mindset' is very abstract and vague. The incidence of celibacy was very high, not just from the priesthood but because of the obsession with land. See the tendency to look after the parents and inherit the farm at all costs. I guess depopulation is the most measurable effect.