Non-religious feel less integrated in NI society than Protestants and Catholics

Non-religious people are less likely to feel a sense of belonging to Northern Ireland than Catholics and Protestants, less likely to feel a sense of belonging to their neighbourhoods, and are less likely to feel their cultural identity is respected by society. They are also less likely to feel that their children’s school is somewhere where they can be open about their cultural identity.

These are the findings of the newly published Northern Ireland Good Relations Indicators 2024 Report, the Executive Office report that tracks how people feel about Northern Ireland’s shared community, safety, and cultural inclusivity. Northern Ireland Humanists has said that the findings should be a wake-up call to politicians on the need to take steps to fully include the non-religious in society.

The findings include:

• On belonging to NI and to their neighbourhoods: ‘Among adults, respondents with no religion (70%) are significantly less likely than either Catholic (87%) or Protestant respondents (87%) to feel a sense of belonging to their neighbourhood… significantly more Protestant respondents (91%) than either Catholic respondents (75%) or respondents with no religion (70%) felt a sense of belonging to Northern Ireland.’
  
• On respect for cultural identity: ‘Over a half of adult respondents (56%) feel that their own cultural identity is respected by society. 63% of Catholic respondents, 55% of Protestant respondents and 49% of respondents with no religion feel this.’
  
• On schools allowing for cultural openness: ‘Respondents with no religion (72%) less often report that their child’s school is somewhere their children can be open about their cultural identity than either Catholic (90%) or Protestant (84%) respondents.’
  
• On support for mixed schools: ‘A significantly higher proportion of those with no religion (74%) would prefer mixed religion schools when compared with Catholic respondents (59%) and Protestant respondents (65%).’ Although, of course, a majority of all groups back this.
  
• On children mixing with others: ‘61% of young people ‘very often’ or ‘sometimes’ socialise or play sport with people from a different religious community. A significantly lower proportion of Catholic young people report this (54%) than Protestant young people (68%) or young people with no religion (64%).’
  

Northern Ireland Humanists Coordinator Boyd Sleator commented:

‘For too long, being non-religious has meant being treated as an afterthought, whether in education, local services, or public representation. Many forms of official classification and monitoring simply record us as “other”, along with all other people who aren’t Protestants or Catholics.

‘But the non-religious are now one of the largest groups in Northern Ireland, and we deserve to be treated equally. We want to see a truly shared society, where people of all backgrounds are valued and included. The Executive and Assembly should act to deliver that society.’