ABSTRACT
The educational system in Northern Ireland generally distinguishes between Catholic schools and state schools. A qualitative approach to the question concerning differences between Catholic and Protestant schools in Northern Ireland was initiated by Murray. In terms of religious beliefs, Catholic students were significantly more likely than Protestant students to hold traditional beliefs. This chapter draws on the Young People's Attitudes to Religious Diversity project to examine the extent to which young people living in Northern Ireland today remain worlds apart or the extent to which they inhabit the common universe of adolescent experience, drawing on the vocabulary proposed by Robbins. Working within the research tradition established by Greer, more recently Mandy Robbins and Leslie Francis extended the Teenage Religion and Values Survey developed by Francis to Northern Ireland. The experience of living with plurality was assessed by three items, exploring cultural differences, ethnic differences and religious differences.
