Religion and democratization in Northern Ireland: is religion actually ethnicity in disguise?

Abstract

Few parts of Europe see as much religious observance as Northern Ireland, and fewer places in Europe have religion as one of the major cleavages on which politics seems to rest. In this article we argue that although religion is an important identifier, it acts as a reinforcer of ethno-national differences rather than as an intrinsically important difference itself. Religious differences while often symbolically important rarely emerge as points of real conflict in Northern Irish politics. It has had little impact on the ongoing process of democratization in Northern Ireland. We review an array of evidence which supports this conclusion. However, we find that religion still has a power to divide and so makes a political settlement less likely than an accommodation.

Gender and Sexuality Politics in Post-conflict Northern Ireland: Policing Patriarchy and Heteronormativity Through Relationships and Sexuality Education

“…Northern Ireland's culture has been described as being morally conservative toward sexuality, reproduction, and sexual health education (Bloomer & O'Dowd, 2014;O'Malley & Walsh, 2013;Wilkinson, 2017). The country has a unique cultural history regarding religion and its national identity politics.…”

Influence of Heterogamy by Religion on Risk of Marital Dissolution: A Cohort Study of 20,000 Couples

“…The relative influence of attitudinal differences and external pressures on dissolution risk of marriages heterogamous by religion has seldom been explored, so we investigated these effects using data from Northern Ireland, a country where religious practice is relatively common and where a profound divide exists between Protestants and Catholics (Lloyd and Robinson 2011 ; O’Malley and Walsh 2013 ; Brewer et al 2013 ). Religious affiliation of partners was used to represent attitudinal differences, and residential segregation by religion was used as a proxy for external pressures.…”

“…It has been argued that the social divide in Northern Ireland is primarily ethno-national and that religion currently serves as an indicator of group identity rather than grounds for further division (O’Malley and Walsh 2013 ; Lloyd and Robinson 2011 ). There are separate school systems, a high degree of residential segregation (Lloyd and Robinson 2011 ) and residual differentials in socio-economic status between Protestants and Catholics.…”

“…Negative social pressures at the local-level compound institutionalised barriers to Protestant–Catholic intermarriage, for example the requirements of the Catholic Church that such marriages must be authorised by a bishop (Lloyd and Robinson 2011 ) and that any children must be brought up Catholic. Historically, the Catholic Church enforced a more strict prohibition of divorce than the mainstream Protestant churches (in the Catholic dominated Republic of Ireland there was a constitutional ban for several decades) but both groups retain conservative attitudes towards marital dissolution (O’Malley and Walsh 2013 ). However, divorce rates have increased in recent decades indicating that the influence of the Churches is declining in this area.…”

Old and new religious minorities: Examining the changing religious profile of the Republic of Ireland

“…When searching for ‘Ireland’ and ‘religion’, we invariably encounter a great wealth of studies on Northern Ireland, religious conflict and the peace process (see for example Brewer et al., 2011; Coakley, 2011; Compton, 1985; Doherty, 1993; O’Dowd and McKnight, 2013; O’Malley and Walsh, 2013; Todd, 2010). We also find, if to a lesser degree, some evidence on religious change in the Republic, particularly in relation to a weakening grip of Catholicism on Irish institutions and attitudes, and rapidly falling church attendance rates (Fuller, 2005; Hirschle, 2010; Inglis, 1998).…”