Predictors of Strength of In‐Group Identity in Northern Ireland: Impact of Past Sectarian Conflict, Relative Deprivation, and Church Attendance

Abstract

Social identity in Northern Ireland is multifaceted, with historical, religious, political, social, economic, and psychological underpinnings. Understanding the factors that influence the strength of identity with the Protestant or Catholic community, the two predominate social groups in Northern Ireland, has implications for individual well-being as well as for the continuation of tension and violence in this setting of protracted intergroup conflict. This study examined predictors of the strength of in-group identity in 692 women (mean age 37 years) in post-accord Northern Ireland. For Catholics, strength of in-group identity was positively linked to past negative impact of sectarian conflict and more frequent current church attendance, whereas for Protestants, strength of in-group identity was related to greater status satisfaction regarding access to jobs, standard of living, and political power compared to Catholics; that is, those who felt less relative deprivation. The discussion considers the differences in the factors underlying stronger identity for Protestants and Catholics in this context.

Religious Identification, Switching, and Apostasy Among Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland: Individual and Cohort Dynamics Between Two Censuses 2001–2011

“…Other survey research, more specifically on Northern Ireland (Goeke‐Morey et al. ), found similarly that socioeconomically deprived Protestants tend to have a weaker sense of religious identity, while Catholic self‐identification tends to be more stable.…”

Youth in Northern Ireland: Linking Violence Exposure, Emotional Insecurity, and the Political Macrosystem

“…For Catholics, strong ingroup identity typically formed around the negative impact of the Troubles and historical discrimination against the Catholic community. For Protestants, strong ingroup identity related to a high standard of living, job satisfaction, and political power (Goeke‐Morey et al, 2014). Finally, in a study of factors related to intergroup bias between Catholic and Protestant adolescents, Merrilees et al (2018) reported that intergroup bias increased with age and that both quality contact happening in the neighborhood and individual‐level contact are linked with lower intergroup bias.…”

“…These results support a distinction between religion as social identity and religiosity as a spiritual process. Interestingly, with regard to the intersection of these constructs, Catholics’ social identity related to more frequent church attendance, but this was not found among Protestants (Goeke‐Morey et al, 2014). Across most faith traditions, there is support for this relation between religiosity and positive parenting—including higher levels of parental warmth, involvement, communication, and authoritative parenting (Goeke‐Morey & Cummings, 2017).…”

The processes underlying the quality of contact with the primary out-group and in-group importance on support for the Syrian resettlement in a post-accord context.

“…Moreover, in-group importance may be strengthened under conditions of threat of perceived extinction (Wohl, Branscombe, & Reysen, 2010). For example, in NI, impact of the recent period of intergroup conflict, or the Troubles, was a predictor of stronger in-group identity, particularly among Catholic mothers (Goeke-Morey, Cairns, Taylor, Merrilees, Shirlow, & Cummings, 2015). These findings suggest that those with higher in-group importance, or stronger attachment to their own social group, may be less likely to help other groups in need.…”