"and still applies in large areas of Ireland today I would think."
Sorry - missed this.
It's interesting to have been around in Ireland over the last couple of decades.
Since the clerical abuse/industrial schools/Masgdelene Laundries broke scandal broke, the faithful have had course to reflect their relationship with the church.
The church has lost its grip on peoples' minds in a big way, church attendences have dropped radically and political influence has waned (see the referendums on Gay marriage and pregnancy termination.
During the latter, the church threatened to excommunicate all politicians who voted for it, but it was still passed (weak as it was).
After the Same-Sex marriage vote, the Bishop of Dublin said that the church needs to wake up to what's happening.
Now, religious schools are coming under scrutiny - my day must be jumping for joy in his urn!
The grip the English church had on peoples' minds appeared to loosen between the wars - now it is a bit of a cypher clung on to by politicians - just in case.....
The religious content of the 'swearing of allegiance" in the British Parliament was abolished in 1977.
The role of the church in British society was always summed up for me when I had to state my religion for official purposes; up to comparatively recently, if you said, "none" you were entered as "Church of England" (as good as none).
Here in Ireland they have taken to writing down "not disclosed".
Jim Carroll