ABSTRACT
Rel ig ion continues to play an influential role i n society i n N o r t h e r n Ireland. Labe l l ing by religious denomina t ion remains the most convenient method o f identifying the d iv is ion between the communi t ies . T h e terms Ca tho l i c and Protestant are preferred to Nat ional is t and Union i s t , or Republ ican and Loyalist , as they embrace the vast majority o f people and are less problematic than other labels.
