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Dublin, 1911 - 8 Atheists & 26 Agnostics!

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    #2
    Beruthiel
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 42,362 Mod ✭✭✭✭Beruthiel


    I'd say you'd have to be one brave individual to be admitting to that in those days!


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    #3
    Peregrinus
    Registered Users Posts: 26,261 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    Fascinating!

    I checked out Francis Sheehy Skeffington. As far as religion goes, he and his wife are both down as "Information Refused", as is their son Owen, who was then aged 1. I suspect that was a common way for the godless to deal with the matter.

    The article linked in the OP points out that, while there were only 8 self-identified atheists and 24 self-identified agnostics, there were 1,170 people in Dublin who declined to state their religion. There's a sporting chance that a big slice of these were atheist or agnostics.

    And, this being Ireland, there's a sporting chance that their neighbours and connections knew they were atheists or agnostics. (Everyone knew about the Sheehy Skeffingtons, for example). This was socially acceptable, as long as you didn't confront people with it by embracing the label too publicly.

    From which we can infer that "don't ask, don't tell" wasn't invented by the US army!


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    #4
    Beruthiel
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 42,362 Mod ✭✭✭✭Beruthiel


    Peregrinus wrote: »
    From which we can infer that "don't ask, don't tell" wasn't invented by the US army!

    Oh ya, we perfected that sh!t.
    Brought it over on the coffin ships we did.


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    #5
    seamus
    Registered Users Posts: 68,317 ✭✭✭✭seamus


    It's quite plausible in Skeff's case that the enumerator just didn't understand the concept and so put him down as "information refused".

    Although he may also have tried to start up a philosophical debate about the meaning of the question :D


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    #6
    Sulla Felix
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,442 ✭✭✭Sulla Felix


    Anyone know the numbers for Jewish in that census? I only ask because I don't know what the climate was like in terms of anti-semitism at the time. Some of the non declared might be Jews if the atmosphere was hostile. Just a thought.


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    #7
    Peregrinus
    Registered Users Posts: 26,261 ✭✭✭✭Peregrinus


    Sulla Felix wrote: »
    Anyone know the numbers for Jewish in that census? I only ask because I don't know what the climate was like in terms of anti-semitism at the time. Some of the non declared might be Jews if the atmosphere was hostile. Just a thought.
    5,101 nationwide. Insofar as there was antisemitism in Ireland, it wasn't official antisemitism, but social antisemtism, and I doubt that many people would have thought that not writing "Jewish" on the census form would do anything to protect them from the antisemitic attitudes of their neighbours.


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    #8
    Sulla Felix
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,442 ✭✭✭Sulla Felix


    Peregrinus wrote: »
    5,101 nationwide. Insofar as there was antisemitism in Ireland, it wasn't official antisemitism, but social antisemtism, and I doubt that many people would have thought that not writing "Jewish" on the census form would do anything to protect them from the antisemitic attitudes of their neighbours.
    Fair enough. Didn't know at all, just throwing it out there. :cool:


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    #9
    PopePalpatine
    Registered Users Posts: 11,869 ✭✭✭✭PopePalpatine


    When I saw the thread title, I first thought it was a link to an article about an atheist conference in Dublin in 1911.


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