Contemporary Culture Challenging the Irish Catholic Church Essay

Contemporary Culture Challenging the Irish Catholic Church - Essay Example It is no longer synonymous to getting a sound education, health care or any other public services. Inglis, with the application of Pierre Bourdieu's theories calls this situation as a "religious capital" and sees that this decline in regard for Catholicism in Ireland has resulted to a so-called Post-Christian/secularized society ("Where to now for Irish Catholicism"). The waning influence of the Irish Catholic church on politics and other socio-political and moral matters is also due to the metamorphosis of popular culture. 'Pop culture' as what popular culture is more commonly known, is a staple in all societies. Pop culture is fuelled with the needs and desires of the people as well as the 'in' thing at the moment. It is considered the 'mainstream' and anything outside of it is considered 'underground'. Pop culture extends to the masses preference in fashion, food music, entertainment and practically any other thing that is integral in the everyday activities of men. Culture has always this tendency to bring in people into its clutches and somehow influence them to take part in it and devote themselves into it. Sociologically, people feel the need to belong in a certain group and building up their identities there. This 'belongingness' bestows a feeling that one is integral in the group's activities and is especially seen in small neighbourhood s and other groups of people. 'Mass culture' on the other hand allow people to characterize themselves in terms of their association with everybody else in the society. In effect, this makes the establishment of an identity more difficult. ("Popular culture"). Pop culture is very specific and varies from the time and place where and when it occurred. It is like a wave that comes and goes as the interest of a small number of people eventually becomes accepted by the masses. It comes from a wide array of sources, one is the business establishments that constantly invents and produces products that may have any cultural impact. The media is also a source of popular culture; music, film, television, radio, video game, and book and comic books all play a part in the cultural changes of the common man ("Popular culture"). The modern times saw the dramatic changes in the lifestyles and behaviour of men. Adults these days find it hard to adjust to these social changes, especially when it comes to issues regarding morality and religion. Morality changes through time as with people's perception of it. It is firmly anchored to reality but as it is proven, reality also changes through time, what applies to this timeline may not be applicable in the past and vice versa. What is viewed as 'morally' right today may not be utterly acceptable in the past. Also the 'moral norms' based on a certain time period's standards can be reinterpreted or misinterpreted by people living in the current time period. Today, there is a so-called 'morality crisis' not just in Ireland but all over the world. This 'moral crisis' characterised by the misinterpretation or total disregard to morals is said to be influenced by pop culture. The Irish Catholic is in itself in some kind of 'identity crisis', it is currently undergoing a re-evaluation of its perspective on