Lord Kilclooney: Sectarian politics in Northern Ireland is in decline

Whilst nationalist and unionist parties are often criticised for sectarianism it is interesting that both the Irish and UK governments have been discussing trends in religion in Northern Ireland (and presumably drawing sectarian and constitutional conclusions!).
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Jan 2020, 12:08 BST
Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

In 1993 the two governments understood that there would not be a Catholic majority in Northern Ireland until possibly 2043.

Then in 2018 Dr Paul Nolan predicted that Catholics would outnumber Protestants in the 2021 census. Note that he did not say Catholics would be a majority!

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The reason for this is, 1, many Catholics and Protestants no longer declare their religion and, 2, there is an ever increasing minority in Northern Ireland who are now secular and no longer consider themselves to be either Catholic or Protestant.

These trends are now reflected in more recent election results.

One particular change in recent years is the falling Catholic birthrate and the abandonment of basic Catholic teaching on such issues as abortion; same sex marriage etc.

Sectarian politics in NI is increasingly in decline. It would assist the development of politics in NI if there were made available a more accurate estimate of the number of Catholics; Protestants; and (in particular) Others in Northern Ireland.

Lord (John) Kilclooney, Mullinure, Co Armagh

Related topics:Northern IrelandProtestant