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Column Losing our religion – what thirtysomethings believe in now

If we haven’t got God to fall back on what does this generation believe in now? Kate Bellamy takes a lighthearted look at what people follow today.

US UNDER THIRTIES are increasingly turning away from the religious doctrine which covertly or overtly influenced the lives of our parents and grandparents.

In the 2011 census just under 277,000 defined themselves as being of ‘no religion’ and these days most under thirties would only go to mass on a special occasion, if pushed.

Organised atheism is on the rise, there’s the insight of the stars in the tabloid back pages, but there’s not so much holy communion anymore. A lot of us seemingly are losing our religion. So if we haven’t got God to fall back on what does this generation believe in now?

Twitter

Technology has a lot to answer for. Our Twitter followers are our friends, they receive our confession and vindicate our existence. Social media provides the merest hint of fame to keep us all sated, we do matter, 156 followers think so. Of course we need things to tweet about, enter BuzzFeed.com. Our one stop shop for all cultural affairs facts, and lists. Lots of lists. A glimpse into the mind of an average twenty-five-year-old would look a lot like BuzzFeed occasionally interrupted by cute pet tumblrs.

When you feel like crap, watching day time telly or stuck at work cute pet tumblrs offer succour. Even the hardest of hearts will be broken by a clip of a dog skateboarding or a cat doing something human like ironing. The inventors of the internet never guessed we’d spend most of our time online googling “dog dancing”.

Apple products, not the fruit variety, are largely responsible for our evolving evangelism. For many their iPhones/Pods/Pads are an extension of themselves. We can’t remember a world pre-iPhone and we certainly couldn’t live in such a place. Once you go Mac you never go back. Likewise TV on demand.

On-demand TV

No more will RTE tell us what to watch and when, we’ll watch Friends re-runs forever if we want! The idea that we should have to sit down at a set time to watch a programme is absurd now, a breach of our human rights! Instead we’ll threaten to kill anyone that gives spoilers to the entire saved up series we’ve got on demand and that we plan to watch over twenty-four hours, in the dark, in our pants.

Another pants related facet of the way we live now is Sexting. Too busy for romance, what with your internship and Twittering, sure fire off an old sexy text, it’s the new sending flowers, but far less subtle.

If you don’t have a significant other on the scene though your time would be well spent googling Ryan Gosling. Man, myth, and . . . mind melter? He rescues people from getting run over, he cries and he makes great films! An odd selection of character traits but they have caused him to be hand-picked by the populace to effectively be our leader, Ryan God-sling.

The internship

If every now and then we do step outside into the cold, harsh real world it might be for an internship. Since the countries finances went wrong unemployment across 20-30s has taken a bit of a battering – to say the least.

The only options remaining are emigrate or intern advertised as the only way to get a job, by getting a foot in the door while getting no money or a sultry bonus to our social welfare. Due to the inherent lack of funds an internship allows we will of course be dressed in Penneys Finest, the answer to all our sartorial needs. Ask and you shall receive in Penney’s, for a fraction of the price.

Despite most of us not being financially solvent we believe in coffee shops – after interning we may also know a lot about their inner workings. Mocha-locha, super-duper, frappa-crappaccinos to get us through the day. We created a monster when we all started going to Starbucks but now it’s too late.

Busy and important

We can’t really afford the extravagant caffeine creations either, but grabbing one ’on the way’ makes us look busy and important. Just don’t mention we’re on the way to Penneys.

The foundation for our contemporary belief system? Alcohol: An initiator and an inhibitor, alcohol is largely responsible for our actions, either bananas or hanging. It’s there to pick us up after a tough week and bringing us crashing back into reality on a Saturday morning. Like a liquid mammy.

Which leads me to Tayto. The day after, when you’re sure your dying, the only thing that’ll save you is a multi-pack of Tayto. Give us this day our daily Tayto and everything will be ok. We love our spuds, particularly fried and covered in cheese and onion flavouring. Not Tayto chocolate bars though, they are an abomination.

Finally and most importantly, to the solid core of our faith, Mammies. Mammies have far more influence on us than the parish priest. If you’ve been away and return home to a mammy dinner; roast chicken, gravy, the lot, you’re in heaven. If a mammy is cross though, or worse, disappointed you’re praying for forgiveness for days.

Kate Bellamy is a TV and features writer online and in print in Ireland and the UK writing on contemporary women’s issues and television – where possible combining the two. Kate was shortlisted for the Vogue Young Writers Talent Contest this year. She can found tweeting @_KateMate.

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    Mute thomas patrick
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    May 2nd 2020, 5:24 PM

    Say what you like about the government, but my opinion is that they have done a great job of keeping what is probably an anadequate ICU system from coming under too much pressure.

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    Mute michal heba
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    May 2nd 2020, 5:25 PM

    @thomas patrick: well, they did what the rest of the world did. Copy paste style of a job. No big achievement in that, people of Ireland did great job

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    Mute Peter McGlynn
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    May 2nd 2020, 5:30 PM

    @thomas patrick: given their handling of health portfolio over 8 years they’ve had to be cautious.

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    Mute thomas patrick
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    May 2nd 2020, 5:37 PM

    @michal heba: oh yeah? So why did they have to close car parks and walkways after a few weeks?
    The people of ireland were doing a great job of ignoring social distancing guidelines until they were strictly policed.

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    Mute thomas patrick
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    May 2nd 2020, 5:39 PM

    @Peter McGlynn: agreed…. but in this instance I think the results have been as positive as we could have hoped for as a people. And that’s not to disrespect people who lost loved ones.. but it could have been a lot worse

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    Mute michal heba
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    May 2nd 2020, 5:52 PM

    @thomas patrick: there is always some element of no cooperation… But in general its people and front staff did all the work. Politicians are still free to travel in government fleet etc.

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    Mute Pád
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    May 2nd 2020, 6:00 PM

    @thomas patrick:
    Don’t think the government done that. More likely it was the medical profession.

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    Mute thomas patrick
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    May 2nd 2020, 6:21 PM

    @Pád: yep . The medical profession provided the advice and the government acted. Not like Mr. Orange across the water.
    I’m only trying to inject a little bit of positivity in a place where it’s easy to bash people. Do any of us think we’d do a better job? Or even put ourselves forward for the job in the first place? I dont think so.
    And yes, absolute credit to the heroes on the front line more than anyone else

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    Mute Derek Poutch
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    May 2nd 2020, 6:29 PM

    @thomas patrick: Could of been a lot better too.

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    Mute Toon Army
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    May 2nd 2020, 8:12 PM

    @thomas patrick: On what basis have they done a great job? Only by looking at the media spun faux comparisons of Italy and UK. When you compare with most similar European countries or the likes of New Zealand you see what could have been possible with an effective strategy and some leadership. We fell some way short. We’ve done ok but it’s been in the absence of adequate leadership.

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    Mute Toon Army
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    May 2nd 2020, 8:25 PM

    @thomas patrick: What’s the relevance in comparing us to a continent of 330 million people and a totally different social set up? I don’t see it positive to constantly say we are doing somewhat better than the couple countries that have plundered globally and that have much larger denser populations. Why not look at what’s possible in the majority of Western European / Scandinavian countries or other similar island nations like New Zealand and believe we can do much better.

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    Mute Daniel Dunne
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    May 2nd 2020, 8:50 PM

    @thomas patrick: we are an island, we could have done way better. We could have achieved the same as NZ or Australia. The “Orange One” has a lower death per capita rate than us, and when this blows over you want someone like the “Orange One” to get your economy going full tilt and roaring again – he has a business head and those types will be nearly as important as the front line workers fighting this crisis in the certain recession ahead.

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    Mute Gerald OBrien
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    May 2nd 2020, 10:12 PM

    @Daniel Dunne: Comparing NZ or the Aussies to Ireland is apples and oranges. They have very different flight traffic to a country like Ireland. They could be doing better, but the metric you have there isnt a good one. If you compare us to countries who do have similar traffic were doing pretty well. Equal to Netherlands, better than the UK for example. We’re way behind Germany, but when aren’t they the best at stuff like that in fairness. Credit where credits due.

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    Mute Gerald OBrien
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    May 2nd 2020, 10:18 PM

    @Gerald OBrien: Also if you do the math America 328,000,000(population) / 67,000(deaths) = 4,800. So 1 death every 4,800. Ireland 4,900,000(population) / 1265(deaths) = 3873. Last time I checked 3873 is less than 4,800

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    Mute FecklessBear
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    May 2nd 2020, 10:22 PM

    @Gerald OBrien: Amsterdam and London are major global air travel hubs. How exactly does Ireland have similar flight traffic to the Netherlands and the UK?
    And you can bet Australia and NZ have far more frequent flights from China.
    You’re talking nonsense.

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    Mute Paul O Neill
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    May 2nd 2020, 10:43 PM

    @Gerald OBrien: your correct in saying we can’t compare to Aus & NZ as it’s been summer over there whilst it’s been winter in this part of the world, also Dublin airport is a major hub with 33 million passing through last year, add to that the school tours to Northern Italy, Cheltenham has effected us and also the Liverpool matches tying us in with the UK more than the rest so we equally can’t be compared to Scandinavia

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    Mute Jun Stone
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    May 3rd 2020, 7:16 AM

    @thomas patrick: I agree, I think they did a brilliant job!

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    Mute Toon Army
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    May 3rd 2020, 8:53 AM

    @Gerald OBrien: lol. Similar traffic to London?

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    Mute Mairead Jenkins
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    May 2nd 2020, 5:24 PM

    That’s really good news. Now they need to get the health service back up and running generally, and start treating people in some of the 100s of empty beds.

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    Mute Jim Buckley Barrett
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    May 2nd 2020, 6:32 PM

    @Mairead Jenkins: no one is stopping any one from attending the hospital where needed. It would seem in the past that a lot of people attending A&E, don’t need to.

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    Mute Mairead Jenkins
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    May 2nd 2020, 6:57 PM

    @Jim Buckley Barrett: I agree with you re A and E. What I meant was the horrendous waiting lists. Good chance to start tackling them with so much spare capacity plus very high availability of beds in all the private hospitals.

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    Mute Andy Harding
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    May 2nd 2020, 5:23 PM

    Thank god it on the way down I’m beginning to feel like Anna Frank at this stage .

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    Mute Charles Alexander
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    May 2nd 2020, 5:49 PM

    @Andy Harding: seriously???

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    Mute Alan McDonald
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    May 2nd 2020, 6:43 PM

    @Andy Harding: Did she also spell your name wrong?

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    Mute Geraldine Glynn
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    May 2nd 2020, 6:27 PM

    Wonderful news. Couldnt be more welcome and needed.
    Full marks and our gratitude to the government and advisors for the tireless efforts.

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    Mute Derek Poutch
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    May 2nd 2020, 6:31 PM

    @Geraldine Glynn: Are you David,s wife, sister or mother even.

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    Mute Geraldine Glynn
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    May 2nd 2020, 8:18 PM

    @Derek Poutch: None of your business. My private life is not open to you or anyone else to question.

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    Mute FecklessBear
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    May 2nd 2020, 10:25 PM

    @Derek Poutch: defo lol..

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    Mute Karllye kripton
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    May 2nd 2020, 5:35 PM

    Thank you for some good news

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    Mute Jim O Brien Tech
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    May 2nd 2020, 5:27 PM

    Number of test said be be 100K last week didn’t happen no answers… 169K tested in total..

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    Mute Dell
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    May 2nd 2020, 5:37 PM

    @Jim O Brien Tech: I think every country is having issues around testing and the availability of staff and resources to do so, but at over 34000 tests per million population, we have actually tested a lot more than most countries.

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    Mute Jim O Brien Tech
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    May 2nd 2020, 6:45 PM

    @Dell: Noted however harris has promised more than once he would get to a level of testing when he has not so why keep telling people different when it is not possible

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    Mute Dell
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    May 2nd 2020, 6:50 PM

    @Jim O Brien Tech: he can’t see into the future

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    Mute Dell
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    May 2nd 2020, 6:55 PM

    @Jim O Brien Tech: also he can only go on the information he is being given by the people in the hse or the labs

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    Mute albhbc
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    May 3rd 2020, 6:35 AM

    @Dell: higher death rate also.

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    Mute Dean
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    May 2nd 2020, 8:08 PM

    That’s good. Hoping nurses get the pay rise they were promised last year.

    A clap for frontline workers, but an instant pay rise for TDs.

    Imagine if nurses held their ground on negotiations during this pandemic, because they’re in demand. That’s capitalism, right? But nurses are not as immoral as businesses or FG’s neoliberal policies.

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    Mute Steve O'Reilly
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    May 3rd 2020, 3:32 AM

    @Dean: the unfortunate thing Dean is that this government is currently throwing billions of euros at the economy and health system to keep everything afloat. This will have to be paid back. I can’t see any pay rises for anyone in that industry unfortunately. And I’m not looking forward to our next budget.

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    Mute Peter Denham
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    May 2nd 2020, 6:39 PM

    This might be, depressingly, what was needed to show this spoofer that the health system is a mess.

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    Mute David Hughes
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    May 2nd 2020, 9:42 PM

    This is interesting. Does anyone know how many people have died while in ICU? One would assume that if diagnosed with Covid-19 which then became serious resulting in hospitalisation and subsequent transfer to ICU, that most of our 1,200+ deaths should have occurred by that sequence/route. This does not appear to have been the case. It appears that the vast majority of our Covid deaths never made it to ICU and possibly never even made it to hospital. Or I am I missing something somewhere…..

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    Mute Hundredth Idiot
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    May 2nd 2020, 9:55 PM

    @David Hughes: frail people aren’t put on ventilators in ICU because the outcomes aren’t good for them, i.e. it’s an intervention that doesn’t work. Nothing to do with capacity, it’s the same in normal times. So there’s lots of deaths outside of ICU.

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    Mute David Hughes
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    May 2nd 2020, 11:58 PM

    @Hundredth Idiot: Thank you. So those that are deemed to be too frail are not given the chance of life as their possible outcomes are not good – in order to make room for the potential intake of Covid 19 cases? The ICU numbers that have died seem very low in comparison with the national figure

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    Mute Hundredth Idiot
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    May 3rd 2020, 2:56 AM

    @David Hughes: No, you’re fundamentally misunderstanding. There is no capacity issue, there is no “not being given the chance of life”. ICU isn’t the most appropriate place for many frail patients. It’s a clinical decision. Google “clinical frailty scale” and COVID-19.

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    Mute John John
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    May 2nd 2020, 10:17 PM

    And zero covid19 in the 2 Galway hospitals ICU

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