18th June 2001

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The Protestant community is feeling increasingly marginalised by wider political developments, according to new research by Dr Joanne Hughes and Dr Caitlin Donnelly of the Univeristy of Ulster.

And Protestants feel that the overall political and social context in NI is perceived to be much less sensitive to their rights and cultural traditions than those of the Catholic community

The research, conducted as part of the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, found that, although both communities accept that relations are likely to improve in the future, there is disparity between the extent to which Protestants and Catholics express willingness to embrace opportunities for cross-community contact, with evidence of growing insecurity in the Protestant respondents

Ever since 1989 surveys have monitored the position of the Northern Ireland people towards community relations issues. The Northern Ireland Social Attitudes Survey and the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey have diligently ‘taken the temperature’ of public attitudes regularly through the seismic changes in the political landscape over the last decade.

In their new research, Dr Joanne Hughes and Dr Caitlin Donnelly take a measured look at some of the changes over the last decade and their implications for community relations policy and practice.

In the period 1989 to 1996 there was a considerable increase of 24% in the numbers of Catholics and Protestants who believed that relations between the two communities had improved. This is in contrast with the picture which emerges after 1996 where there was only a slight overall increase (4%).

Furthermore a significant disparity in attitude began to emerge between Protestants and Catholics after 1996. In the period 1989 to 1996 those who thought that relations had improved increased from 20% to 44% and 23% to 47% for Protestants and Catholics respectively.

From 1996 to 1999 the positive trend continued for Catholics with a further 13% indicating that relations had improved. But the Protestant response to the same question indicated a decline of 2%.

Authors Dr Joanne Hughes and Dr Caitlin Donnelly of the University of Ulster said:

“The growing disparity between the Protestant and Catholic response is perhaps an endorsement of a Catholic community that is growing in confidence and a Protestant community feeling increasingly marginalised by wider political developments.”

The proportions of both Protestants and Catholics preferring to live and work with only their own religious group fell in 1996 but has now more or less returned to the 1989 figures. In 1996 the marked increase in preference for living and working in mixed religion environments could be explained by the more congenial and sanguine atmosphere inspired
by the 1994 cease-fire and the low level of violence in the inter-cease-fire period.

However an increase in other forms of sectarianism since the cease-fires such as intimidation and harassment could mean that presidential and work place segregation has become critical for some groups.

There was general agreement that equality should be a top priority for government but just over half (53%) of respondents actually believed that Protestants and Catholics were treated equally. Catholics no longer universally see the political context as operating against equality and 56% believed that they are treated equally – or that it depends on the issue. The authors suggest:

“Had this question been asked ten years ago, this figure is likely to have been substantially lower.”

With respect to who is treated better, almost half of the respondents (46%) believe that it is Protestants. Although almost three-quarters of Catholics (73%) believe that Protestants are treated better it is perhaps more significant, given the legacy of discrimination against the Catholic community, that over half (52%) of the Protestant respondents believe that it is Catholics who now receive better treatment.

On ‘rights’ and ‘cultural traditions’ there is evidence that recent measures to inspire confidence amongst the Catholic community have been successful.

“A different picture is emerging for Protestants where responses suggest that the overall political and social context in NI is perceived to be much less sensitive to their rights and cultural traditions than those of the Catholic community.

“More than twice as many Protestants than Catholics agreed or strongly agreed that the rights of the ‘other community’ were talked about more than their own.”

For further information, please contact:

Press Office Department of Communication and Development
Telephone: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk