Davie's (1994) concept of “believing without belonging” describes the move away from organized religion and the growing number of “spiritual but not religious” people (Davie, 1994 ). It describes why people feel they no longer need to participate in religious practices, but still consider themselves "Catholic." This essay will first discuss what it means to believe, then the extent to which Davie's concept is applicable to the Irish context in describing the deep penetration of religion into history and will also suggest how the contradictory hypothesis "belonging without believing” is also applicable. Glock and Stark's (1968) multidimensional analysis of the 8 ways of being religious measures religiosity in conventional terms. It describes what it means to “believe.” To truly believe, you must adhere to the following 8 dimensions. The first dimension is the experimental dimension; a deep connection one feels with God. The ritual dimension involves participation in ritual service. The devotional aspect involves private prayer and fidelity to religious teachings. The belief dimension refers to the degree to which a person agrees with the beliefs of the group. The knowledge dimension refers to knowledge of these beliefs and rituals of the group. The consequential dimension concerns the way in which religion influences behaviors and attitudes in daily life. Community aspect refers to the number of friends and family members one has in the same denomination. Particularism measures the extent to which a person believes that their own faith offers the only hope of salvation (Roberts, 2003). In modern Irish society, being religious, as Glock and Stark report, is an increasingly difficult task. Typically Irish...... middle of article ......rnal of Contemporary Religion, Volume 22(2), pp. 205-220. Mohler, A., 2007. Crosswalk. [Online]Available at: http://www.crosswalk.com/church/pastors-or-leadership/the-trend-of-believing-without-belonging-11536808.html[Accessed 2013 12 07].O' Sullivan, D., 2005. Irish cultural policy and education since the 1950s: policies, paradigms and power. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration. O'Doherty, M., 2008. Empty pulpits: Ireland's retreat from religion. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. Roberts, K., 2003. Research implications of defining religion. Religion in Sociological Perspective, Volume 4: Wadsworth Publishing. Stark, R and Glock, C., 1968. American Piety: The Nature of Religious Commitment. Berkeley.Walsh, W., 1999. Religion in Ireland – Past, Present and Future: The Church in the New Millennium. Dublin: The Columbia Press.