Churches, society and conflict in Northern Ireland Duncan Morrow

Although Presbyterians and Anglicans (Church of Ireland) account for over 75% of all Protestants, there are more than 45 separate denominations with more than 100 members in a population of less than 800,000. This contrasts sharply with the Catholic population, unified into one institutional body. As we shall see, this difference has had political as well as religious significance, as the institutional unity of Catholicism has sometimes been seen as threatening when contrasted with the fragmentary nature of Protestantism.