Abstract
This study examines the socioeconomic and familial background of Irish Catholic priests born between 1867 and 1911. Previous research has hypothesized that lack of marriage opportunities may influence adoption of celibacy as part of a religious institution. The present study traced data from Irish seminary registries for 46 Catholic priests born in County Limerick, Ireland, using 1901 Irish Census returns and Land Valuation records. Priests were more likely to originate from landholding backgrounds, and with landholdings greater in size and wealth than the local average. Priests were found to originate from families with more sons than the national average, but with similar numbers of daughters. These findings are discussed in relation to competition for resources and lineage survival strategies.
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Denis Deady is currently a psychology doctoral student at the University of Stirling, Scotland. This paper is based on research from his MSc thesis in Evolutionary Psychology gained at the University of Liverpool.
Miriam Law Smith also completed the MSc in Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Liverpool and is currently a psychology doctoral student at the University of St Andrews, Scotland.
J. P. Kent is a lecturer in psychology at University College Dublin.
R. I. M. Dunbar is a professor at the University of Liverpool in the Evolutionary Psychology and Behavioural Ecology Research Group. Robin Dunbar’s research is supported by a British Academy Research Professorship.
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Deady, D.K., Law Smith, M.J., Kent, J.P. et al. Is priesthood an adaptive strategy?. Hum Nat 17, 393–404 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-006-1002-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12110-006-1002-2