Religion and conflict : the case of Northern Ireland

60 Pages·1995·1.6 MB·English

by  O'Malley, Padraig

UMASS/AMHERST *
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RELIGION AND CONFLICT:
THE CASE OF NORTHERN IRELAND
by
Padraig O'Malley, Senior Fellow
June 1995
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An Occasional Paper
AND
RELIGION CONFLICT:
THE CASE OF NORTHERN IRELAND
by
Padraig O'Malley, Senior Fellow
June 1995

McCormack
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The Author
Padraig OMalley is a Senior Fellow at the John W. McCormack Institute ofPublic Affairs and
editor ofitsNewEnglandJournalofPublicPolicy. He is now working on a book on the
transition in South Africa, ''Shades ofDifference: Transition in SouthAfrica.*'

RELIGION AND CONFLICT:
THE CASE OF NORTHERN IRELAND
Now that the peace process, however fragile and tenuous, has stayed the course, despite
some serious obstacles and setbacks, and talks between the British government and Sinn Fein are
taking place, it is a time to reflect on the nature ofthe divisions that have scarred our lives and
psyches.
One ofthe most under-researched and least understood aspects ofthe conflict is the role
religious differences play - or do not play.^ While it is a common practice to label the two
communities as "Catholics" and "Protestants," and to keep the tally-roll ofthe dead according to -
religious affiliation, it is also commonly acknowledged that these labels are a short-hand way of
putting many threads ofidentity under a convenient umbrella. Not all Catholics are Nationalists,
and not all Protestants are Unionists, and no one has seriously suggested that differences in
theological beliefs are the root cause ofour problems.
But this is not to say that religion should be dismissed. It is well established that one of
the many fears Northern Ireland Protestants harbor is the fear ofbeing culturally and religiously
absorbed in an all-Ireland state in which they would account for 20% ofthe population. A state
they would vehemently insist on calling a theocratic state.
But beyond that, I will argue in this paper, that religion plays a critical but little
understood role in the conflict, one, which, ifnot acknowledged and addressed, could seriously
handicap the prospects for a negotiated settlement.
^ SeeJohnWhyte,InterpretingNorthernIreland(Oxford: OxfordUniversityPress, 1990).
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