Options
The political impact of secularisation in Northern Ireland
Author(s)
Date Issued
2004
Date Available
2010-07-29T13:12:23Z
Abstract
The Northern Ireland conflict has traditionally been characterized as a sectarian conflict between two monolithic religious communities, Protestant and Catholic. As a result, little attention has been devoted to the social and political differences stemming from other forms of religious identification, notably religious independents, or those who claim no religious affiliation. Using the 2002 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, this paper provides the most recent empirical evidence to challenge this conventional wisdom. The results suggest the existence of a small but significant group of religious independents that not only differ from the two communities in relation to their socio-demographic background but also in terms of their pragmatism on the constitutional issue. However, independents also eschew electoral politics, suggesting that until genuinely non-confessional parties emerge to represent their views, their potential to ameliorate the conflict will remain immobilised.
Sponsorship
Not applicable
Type of Material
Working Paper
Publisher
University College Dublin. Institute for British-Irish Studies
Series
IBIS Working Papers
36
Copyright (Published Version)
The authors, 2004
Subject – LCSH
Identification (Religion)
Northern Ireland--Religion
Secularization--Northern Ireland
Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
Conference Details
Revised version of a paper presented at Institute for British-Irish Studies Conference “Old structures, new beliefs: religion, community and politics in contemporary Ireland,” University College Dublin, 15 May 2003.
ISSN
1649-0304
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
File(s)
Views
3190
Last Week
4
4
Last Month
7
7
Acquisition Date
Apr 18, 2024
Apr 18, 2024
Downloads
1146
Last Week
1
1
Last Month
13
13
Acquisition Date
Apr 18, 2024
Apr 18, 2024