Religious and National Identity after the Belfast Good Friday Agreement

Abstract

National and religious identification processes can be seen as the basis of the conflict in Northern Ireland, and over the course of the conflict preferred social and political identities became increasingly oppositional and entrenched. This paper reviews this evidence using population-level studies of self-categorized national and religious identity. In an attempt to explore the bases of these identities, two interrelated qualitative studies examining the constructions of national and religious identification are reported. The findings presented suggest the continuing predominance of national and religious identities that have generally been constructed as opposing. Evidence of complete overlap of the identities is evidenced in conflation of religion and nationality in adolescents'essays. Theoretical sampling of adults living on the border between Northern Ireland, the republic of Ireland, and those in mixed marriages highlight the strategic use of national and religious identities that may act to support divisions in post-Agreement Northern Ireland.

Interpretations of national identity in post-conflict Northern Ireland: a comparison of different school settings

“…In contrast, there is less consistency surrounding the meaning of British identity (favoured by Protestants), which is typically represented as pertaining to British symbolism. This finding corresponds with earlier research on religious and national identity that suggests, for Protestants, the British identity is associated with greater ambiguity compared with the Irish identity for Catholics (Muldoon et al, 2007). Irrespective of this difference, for both groups, identification is coupled with high levels of interactional and affective commitment.…”

“…This is something that has also been picked up by Cassidy and Trew (2004) who have argued that for Protestants, national identity is lower in salience compared with Catholic identity (Cassidy & Trew, 2004). So whilst it was argued earlier that the 'Northern Irish', identity category can present an alternative to traditional oppositional identities (Muldoon et al, 2007) our data suggested that the Northern Irish identity appears to be associated with the same sense of insecurity and alienation among…”

“…Whilst cognizant of the limitations of such an approach and appreciative that writing cannot replace the exposition that would naturally emerge during interview, the unobtrusive nature of the method meant that we were better placed to secure access to large numbers of students across a range of school types. In addition, and of importance, the technique has already been used in Northern Ireland where the results offered important insights into the processes and dynamics of conflict (Muldoon, 2007).…”

“…Our mixed backgrounds we believe allowed for a more nuanced and discursive approach to the analysis than may have been afforded had we all been drawn from the same identity categories. It was thus through a process of consensual validation, all four researchers agreed on the final categories and overarching themes (Muldoon et al, 2007).…”

The Media and Memories of Conflict in Northern Ireland

“…This paper is concerned with adolescents growing up in Ireland where the division between Catholics and Protestants has provided one of the major fault lines in the society. The high degree of overlap between religion and nationality in Northern Ireland has been associated with the development and maintenance of oppositional ethnonational identities (Muldoon, Trew, Todd, Rougier, & McLaughlin, 2007). Personal experiences and characteristics are seen to impact on the nature and strength of ethnonational identities, but the nature of these identities also varies with changes in intergroup relations over time and locality.…”