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.

Keywords:

• religion
• ethnicity
• Northern Ireland
• political parties

Notes

Whyte, Interpreting Northern Ireland, 73.

The Agreement.

Patterson, Ireland Since 1939, 8.

James Craig, Parliamentary Debates, Northern Ireland House of Commons, Vol. 17 (1934), cols 72–73.

Boyd, Holy War in Belfast.

Patterson, Ireland Since 1939, 8.

Byrne and O'Malley, “Politics with Hidden Bases,” 613–629.

Byrne and O'Malley, “The Two Types of Ulster Unionism.”

Ozzano, “The Many Faces of the Political God.”

Mitchell, Religion, Identity and Politics in Northern Ireland, 17.

Ozzano, “The Many Faces of the Political God.”

Wright, “Protestant Ideology and Politics in Ulster,” 213–280.

McGarry and O'Leary, Explaining Northern Ireland.

Ibid.

Taylor, Consociational Theory.

McGarry, “Democracy in Northern Ireland,” 458.

Ibid., 468.

Lijphart, The Politics of Accommodation.

STV operates on the basis of voters rank-ordering candidates. A quota is then calculated on the basis of the number of votes and number of seats on offer. If no candidate reaches the quota on the basis of the first preference votes, the least popular candidate is eliminated and his or her votes are transferred to the remaining candidates on the basis of the next preferred candidate.

Evans and Tonge, “Social Class and Party Choice.”

Meehan, “The Belfast Agreement,” 19–31.

The d'Hondt system uses a mathematical formula which involves the principle of “highest average.” Departments are assigned one at a time, beginning with the party with the highest total. As the largest party, the DUP has the first choice of ministry, followed by Sinn Féin, the second largest party, and so on.

Lutz and Farrington, “Alternative Ulster?,” 718.

See Garry, “Consociationalism and its Critics.”

Ozzano, “The Many Faces of the Political God.”

O'Malley, The Uncivil Wars, 170.

Smyth, “The DUP as a Politico-Religious Organisation,” 33–43.

McIntyre, “Modern Irish Republicanism,” 97–121.

Cited in Moloney, A Secret History of the IRA, 75.

Ibid., 75.

English, Armed Struggle, 112.

Walsh and O'Malley, “The Slow Growth of Sinn Féin,” 205–219.

The Alliance Party is a small party and tries to be non-religious.

Evans and Tonge, “Social Class and Party Choice.”

Tilley and Evans, “Political Generations in Northern Ireland,” 583–608.

Volkens et al., The Manifesto Data Collection.

Ibid.

DUP, Leadership to Put Things Right!.

DUP, Leadership to Put Things Right!; DUP, A Fair Deal Manifesto 2003.

DUP, Leadership that's Working.

Ibid.

DUP, Let's Keep Northern Ireland Moving Forward; DUP, Moving Forward: Manifesto 2011.

UUP, Secure the Union, Build your Future.

UUP, Invitation to Join the Government of the United Kingdom.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin Westminster Election Manifesto 1997; Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin 6 County Assembly Election Manifesto 1998.

Sinn Féin, An Ireland of Equals in a Europe of Equals.

Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin Assembly Election Manifesto 2007.

SDLP, Real Leadership Real Peace.

This is reinforced by Sinn Féin's approach to policing that refers to “nationalists” and “republican” experience/recruitment rather than Catholic experience (Sinn Féin, Sinn Féin Assembly Election Manifesto 2007; Sinn Féin, Leadership Across Ireland).

SDLP, SDLP Manifesto.

SDLP, Reshaping Government, Rebuilding Public Services.

SDLP, SDLP Manifesto; SDLP, Let's Deliver Real Progress.

ISSP International Social Survey Programme 2008.

Garry, “Consociationalism and its Critics,” 458–466.

Evans and Tonge, “Social Class and Party Choice in Northern Ireland's Ethnic Blocs,” 1023.

Tilley and Evans, “Political Generations in Northern Ireland,” 583–608.

ARK, Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey.

Curry and O'Connell, “Post-Materialist Values and Political Preferences,” 19–30.

We used a number of different measures for religion in other models and in no case was one significant.

Inglehart and Norris, Sacred and Secular.