What effect is the media having on how people view and hear about the catholic church in Ireland?

Abstract

The clerical sexual abuse scandals in Ireland has done untold reputational damage to the Catholic Church in Ireland. During and after the scandals, the media provided the Catholic Church with a grovelling platform as it tried to placate the Irish public. The media used their position to negatively portray the Catholic Church to the Irish people. The aims of this research are to examine what effect is the media having on peoples view towards the Catholic Church in Ireland, and to explore how people are now hearing about the Catholic Church in Ireland. The research, conducted using a quantitative data led study, consisted of a ten-point questionnaire. A total of 217 participants responded to the questionnaire. The sample was random and was made up of students from Dublin Business School and employees from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin. The results showed that participants think the media is having a negative effect over their views of the Catholic Church in Ireland. The results also showed that participants are now mainly hearing about the Catholic Church through the media. The conclusion of this research is that the media is having a negative effect on people’s views towards the Catholic Church in Ireland, and most people are now hearing about developments in the Catholic Church through the media.