A new privately funded non-governmental organisation, the Iona Institute, has been set up in Dublin to preserve marriage and promote religious practice.
It hopes to provide a voice in public debate on marriage and the family, religious practice, religious freedom, and the causes of social problems in Irish society.
"While the institute will draw on Catholic social thinking, a great deal of its work will appeal to Christians of all denominations," said the director of the institute, journalist and commentator David Quinn.
The institute believes crime, substance abuse and suicide are caused in part by family breakdown and the decline in religious practice. It intends to highlight this linkage by sponsoring research, opinion polls and seminars, and through the formulation of social policies.
According to the first opinion poll commissioned by the institute, 58 per cent of people agreed that "the absence of a father from the home is likely to harm a child emotionally or developmentally". Twenty-nine per cent disagreed, while 17 per cent didn't know or held neither position.
Mr Quinn said: "Those who had children out of wedlock [ in the past] were often harshly treated, and religion was frequently merely moralistic and judgmental. Despite this, the fact remains that marriage is a very necessary building block for society, as is religion. Both act as all-important transmitters of moral values and are vital to the healthy functioning of society."
The poll also found that 80 per cent of people believed "tax should be reduced for families with children in order to ease their financial burden". Just 16 per cent believed "the tax system should tax people as individuals and take no account of whether they are married and/or have children". Four per cent didn't know.
The poll, by Lansdowne Market Research, was conducted over a four-week period in November and December last year and involved face-to-face interviews with 950 people.
It found that 52 per cent believed "it is better if the parents of a child are married", while 29 per cent disagreed and 19 per cent didn't know. Fifty-eight per cent believed marital and family breakdown was harmful to society, as opposed to 27 per cent who disagreed.
The poll also found that 56 per cent believed the State should support policies that encourage mothers and fathers to stay together, as opposed to 27 per cent who did not. Fifty-seven per cent believed the main reason the State supported marriage was to promote the happiness and well-being of the married couple, as opposed to 28 per cent who believed it did so to support parents in raising children.
Forty-five per cent believed the State should support marriage over other family forms, while believing all families should receive State support. Thirty-four per cent disagreed and 21 per cent didn't know.
Commenting on the poll findings, Mr Quinn said: "The results are not surprising. There is significant research to show that children are less likely to experience difficulties at all stages of their lives if they are reared by their mother and father, especially when the parents are married. Common sense tells us this as well."
He continued: "The fact that a majority of Irish people still support, and want the State to support, the two-parent family and marriage is something legislators must take into account as they consider potentially far-reaching changes to family law."