Theological training in the Church of Ireland 1969 to 2019

The fifty-year period from 1969 to 2019 was a period of radical change in Irish society. During that period, a conservative and insular society became more outward-focused and globally engaged. The introduction of free second-level education in the Republic of Ireland in 1967 contributed to this change. Whereas in the mid-1960s more than 50% of young people left school by the age of 15 with no post-primary qualification, by 2018 the young population of Ireland was among the best educated in the western world. From the point of view of religion, in the 1960s the vast majority of the population, north and south, belonged to Christian Churches, and religious observance and church attendance was high. By 2016, church attendance had fallen off significantly, and the Church of Ireland population in the Republic of Ireland had fallen from 3.3% of the population in 1971 in to 2.8% in 2016. That year, the Church of Ireland population in the south was 126,400 and in Northern Ireland it was 260,000. Another major change that occurred during this period was the decision of the Church of Ireland in 1990 to accept women for ordination. The first women were ordained to the priesthood in June 1990 and the first female member of the Episcopate was consecrated in 2013.