Beyond Religion, Science and Secularism: Health Beliefs and Complex Diversity in Northern Ireland

Discussions on diversity call for a consideration of 'intimate beliefs' that extend beyond structural and organisational differences to include highly nuanced ideas and practices. Complex diversity is therefore taken as transcending Westerncentric and modernist notions of religiosity and religion, and requires a discussion of wider, less articulated, but more organic, intimate (localised) beliefs and practices, that predate modern and formally established expressions of religion, including Christianity. Using data from two ethnographic sites, this discussion pays attention to the role of folk beliefs in Northern Ireland and the relationship with religion, ethnicity and health care. It considers how folk beliefs and folk practices are commonly integrated with biomedical health care practices. The paper then tries to draw out more general theoretical and practical implications and points out areas of concern for Western governments and influential international bodies such as the World Health Organisation (WHO).