Galway Bay fm newsroom - Around 90 per cent of trainee primary teachers say they're Roman Catholics, compared to just 78 percent of the general population.
The study by NUI Galway found that although Catholics are over represented in the profession, they were in favour of teaching children about all faiths.
96 per cent of state primary schools are denominational.
Researchers say that the prospect of entering a course and profession dominated by one religion may deter people from choosing a career in teaching.
However they did note that despite the high number of catholics, all respondents were in favour of teaching children about all faiths.
Dr. Manuela Heinz from the School of Education at NUIG says non-religious teacher trainees are under-represented in training programmes.
Dr. Heinz says the study also delved deeper into trainee teachers practice of their religion, if they are religious.
