Twenty-five years ago, the Good Friday Agreement halted much of the violence of Northern Ireland’s Troubles.
Jonny Clark, program manager for public theology at Corrmeela, an organisation that has worked for decades toward reconciliation in Northern Ireland, visits the peace walls in west Belfast, Northern Ireland, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023. Twenty-five years ago, the Good Friday Agreement halted much of the violence of Northern Irelands Troubles. Today, grassroots faith leaders are trying to build on that opportunity.
Moreover, Catholics now outnumber Protestants in a land historically defined by its pro-British Protestant majority. But neither of them are in church as often as they used to be, those who profess no religion are growing, and Catholics have mixed views about uniting with Ireland, meaning it’s not expected to come to a vote any time soonThe Holocaust memorial event on a January evening was one of a series of small yet earnest activities by two youth groups — the Catholic St.
“A lot of churches don’t preach love, they preach religion,” Petticrew said. “Let’s show people that love works, but it has to be genuine love, not preaching at them.” But in another demographic jolt, the number of people who don’t identify with any religion jumped to 17%, up from 10% a decade earlier.
What’s more, only 55% of Catholics in Northern Ireland would vote to join Ireland. A fifth of Catholics would stay in the U.K. and another fifth were uncertain.“There’s more and more and more people like myself who also don’t actually identify with the idea or don’t take a position on being part of the U.K. or part of the Republic of Ireland,” said Boyd Sleator, coordinator of the group Northern Ireland Humanists. “We should just think about governing ourselves.
All of this churn reflects what many have been saying all along — that the conflict was never about religion alone but also about land, money, power and legal rights. Few efforts are more striking than what’s taking place at the Building Bridges Community Boxing Club. Surrounding the boxing rings and punching bags, the walls of the gym are filled with a kaleidoscope of motivational posters — photos of famous boxers past and present mingled with slogans like “BELIEVE” and “ACHIEVE.”
That was Shaw’s own experience, growing up in a solidly Protestant neighborhood and only meeting his first Catholic friend at age 17 — a co-worker with shared interests in football, music and girls.