Religion in Northern Ireland

Christianity is the largest religion in Northern Ireland. According to a 2007 Tearfund survey, Northern Ireland is the most religious part of the UK, with 45% regularly attending church.^[1]

The Church of Ireland in recent years has seen a drop in members along with the Methodists. The Presbyterian Church has seen a minor increase, the Roman Catholic Church has increased by up to 3%.

There are also small Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jewish communities. There is a Muslim Mosque, Jewish Synagogue, Sikh Gurdwara and two Hindu Temples in Belfast. There is another Sikh Gurdwara in Derry. Jews in Northern Ireland are small in number, about 500, down from 1,310 in 1967.

Christianity

Christianity is the main religion in Northern Ireland. The 2001 UK census showed 40.3% Roman Catholic, 20.7% Presbyterian Church, with the Church of Ireland having 15.3% and the Methodist Church 3.5%. Members of other Christian churches comprised 6.1%, 13.8% stated they have no religion or did not state a religion, and members of non-Christian religions were 0.3%.

The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland is the largest single church though there is a greater number of Protestants and Anglicans overall. The Church is organised into four provinces though these are not coterminous with the modern political division of Ireland. The seat of the Archbishop of Armagh, the Primate of All Ireland, is St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh.

The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, closely linked to the Church of Scotland in terms of theology and history, is the second largest church and largest Protestant denomination. It is followed by the Church of Ireland (Anglican) which was the state church of Ireland until it was disestablished by the Irish Church Act 1869. In 2002, the much smaller Methodist Church in Ireland signed a covenant for greater cooperation and potential ultimate unity with the Church of Ireland.^[2]

Smaller, but growing, Protestant denominations like the Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland and the Assemblies of God Ireland are also organised on an all-Ireland basis, though in the case of the AOG this was the result of a recent reorganisation.^[3]

Minor religions

Islam

While there were a small number of Muslims already living in what became Northern Ireland in 1921, the bulk of Muslims in Northern Ireland today come from families who immigrated during the late 20th century. At the time of the 2001 Census there were 1,943 living in Northern Ireland,^[4] though the Belfast Islamic Centre claims that as of January 2009, this number had increased to over 4,000.^[5] The Muslims in Northern Ireland come from over 40 countries of origin, from Western Europe all the way through to the Far East.^[6] This situation is reflected in comparably complex institutional arrangements.^[7]

Judaism

Bahá'í Faith

The Bahá'í Faith in Northern Ireland begins after a century of contact between Irishmen and the Bahá'í Faith beyond the island and on the island.^[8][9][10] The members of the religion elected its first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly in 1949 in Belfast.^[11] The Bahá'ís held an international conference in Dublin in 1982 which was described as “…one of the very few occasions when a world event for a faith community has been held in Ireland”.^[12] By 1993 there were a dozen assemblies in Northern Ireland.^[13] By 2005 Bahá'í sources claim some 300 Bahá'ís across Northern Ireland.^[14]

Mormonism

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has about 5,334 members in Northern Ireland. This is a higher number than the Republic of Ireland and twenty-one other European states, who have a larger population than Northern Ireland. With membership more than doubling in the last 16 years. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has about 5,334 members in Northern Ireland. This is a higher number than the Republic of Ireland and twenty-one other European states, who have a larger population than Northern Ireland. With membership more than doubling in the last 16 years.

Neo-paganism

Hinduism

Hinduism is a relatively minor religion in Northern Ireland with only around 200 Hindu families in the region.^[15] There are, however, 3 Mandirs in Belfast.

Statistics

Source: UK 2001 Census.^{[16] [17]}

History

The Troubles

The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from approximately 1968 to the signing of the Belfast Agreement in 1998. Violence nonetheless continued beyond this period and still manifests on a small-scale basis.^[18]

The principal issues at stake in the Troubles were the constitutional status of Northern Ireland and the relationship between the mainly-Protestant Unionist and mainly-Catholic Nationalist communities in Northern Ireland. The Troubles had both political and military (or paramilitary) dimensions. Its participants included politicians and political activists on both sides, republican and loyalist paramilitary organisations, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the British Army and the security forces of the Republic of Ireland.

See also

• Religion in the Republic of Ireland
• Religion in the United Kingdom

References

External links

• Homepage of the Irish Bishops' Conference (Roman Catholic)
• CatholicIreland.net, Content-rich portal of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland
• Presbyterian Church in Ireland
• Church of Ireland
• Methodist Church in Ireland
• Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland
• Assemblies of God Ireland