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Today Ireland is having a referendum to vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to allow same-sex marriage. If the vote passes, it will make it the 20th country in modern times to legalize same-sex marriage, and the first to do so via a referendum.
84% of people in Ireland identify as Roman Catholic. Historically the country has been quite conservative on marriage issues, with a public referendum to allow divorce failing in 1986, and passing in 1995 by an extremely slim margin (50.28%). However, numerous scandals within the Catholic church over the last 30 years seem to have hugely undermined the public's view of the church's moral authority. And while most Catholic leaders are encouraging a No-vote, there are various priests encouraging a Yes-vote including one priest who told his congregation he is gay.
Today's referendum is widely predicted to be a landslide victory for same-sex marriage, with all major political parties having expressed public support for a Yes-vote. Various polls have predicted outcomes of ~58-70% Yes. However, similar polls were reported prior to the 1995 divorce vote, and that turned out to be extremely close.
The Guardian's article includes this cute little video (particularly cute for the Irish accent) about marriage traditions in different cultures:
https://embed.theguardian.com/embed/...ferendum-video
84% of people in Ireland identify as Roman Catholic. Historically the country has been quite conservative on marriage issues, with a public referendum to allow divorce failing in 1986, and passing in 1995 by an extremely slim margin (50.28%). However, numerous scandals within the Catholic church over the last 30 years seem to have hugely undermined the public's view of the church's moral authority. And while most Catholic leaders are encouraging a No-vote, there are various priests encouraging a Yes-vote including one priest who told his congregation he is gay.
Today's referendum is widely predicted to be a landslide victory for same-sex marriage, with all major political parties having expressed public support for a Yes-vote. Various polls have predicted outcomes of ~58-70% Yes. However, similar polls were reported prior to the 1995 divorce vote, and that turned out to be extremely close.
The Guardian's article includes this cute little video (particularly cute for the Irish accent) about marriage traditions in different cultures:
https://embed.theguardian.com/embed/...ferendum-video
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