Introduction

Conflict in Northern Ireland has not been, is not and will never be a holy war. However, religion is much more socially and politically significant than many commentators have presumed. In a conflict constituted by multiple factors, such as ethnicity and inequality, religion remains one of the central dimensions of social difference. Its political significance derives from five overlapping sources. First, religion is integrally bound up with power relationships in Northern Ireland as churches continue to cooperate with politicians to represent the unionist and nationalist political mainstream. Secondly, religion is the dominant boundarymarker and the basis of widespread social segregation. As such, religion provides a variety of resources to distinguish in-group from out-group members. These include religious rituals which are widely participated in and help construct a sense of community, both practically and cognitively, for many Protestants and especially Catholics. Religious ideology – religiously derived but non-theological concepts of self and other – also informs communal identifications, especially for Protestants. Finally, theology and doctrine help constitute the meanings of group identity and politics for some Protestants. These dimensions of religion overlap with and reinforce one another. So too, they overlap with and reinforce other dimensions of social difference such as ethnicity and inequality. This is why religion is so deeply rooted in political culture and structure in Northern Ireland.