There are so many types of, and motivations for child abuse I think it's practically impossible to lay the blame in any one place or set of circumstances. It's true that sexual repression will invariably mess people up, as it directly contradicts our survival instinct, but even the result of that is unpredictable. Generally speaking, if we are told something pleasurable is 'wrong' (sex, drugs, rock and roll, bacon sandwiches) it makes it more attractive. It is the power that the Catholic church has over societies (Ireland in this case) which gives rise to the structures in which child abuse can easily occur, not the faith itself. That power varies in degree from place to place, and I'd guess that the level of abuse varies in tandem with it.

To sort of back up some of what Joe's saying, it occured to me that I personally know of three child abusers locally. Two of them play in folk bands - statistics can be deceptive, and usually are.