Northern Ireland census

2022 - 9 - 23

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Catholics outnumber Protestants in Northern Ireland for first time (The Guardian)

Demographic shift shown in census was expected but will still deliver psychological blow to unionists.

A post-Brexit [Irish Sea border ](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/12/eu-reduce-northern-ireland-border-checks-brexit-uk)has put trade barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. [cleaved six counties](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/apr/21/historians-call-for-opening-of-secret-northern-ireland-files-to-mark-centenary) from the rest of Ireland to create an entity with a two-thirds Protestant majority – comes at a fraught time for unionism. “It’s a ticking clock.” You can’t take away from the symbolic significance of this change.” Some 31.86% identified as British only, 29.13% identified as Irish only and 19.78% as Northern Irish only. It is ageing, with the number of people aged over 65 increasing by nearly 25%. Higher birth rates among Catholics gradually closed the gap, a closely watched metric since they tended to identify as Irish while Protestants tended to identify as British. the census, the first since Brexit, showed a loosening of British identity. Opinion polls consistently show more people favour staying in the UK – citing taxes and the NHS, among other reasons – than uniting with Seeing the loss of their numerical supremacy is another blow.” They have already witnessed the loss of their political supremacy. The 2011 census figures were 45% Catholic and 48% Protestant.

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Image courtesy of "Humanists UK"

NI Census shows one in six are non-religious – nearly doubling in ... (Humanists UK)

More people identify as non-religious than as Presbyterian, Church of Ireland, Methodist, or any denomination apart from Catholic. Northern Ireland Humanists ...

Northern Ireland Humanists is part of Humanists UK, working with the Humanist Association of Ireland. The Census also asks a second question: ‘What religion, religious denomination or body were you brought up in?’ Many commentators and politicians use this to try to argue that people affiliate to one of the two historic communities in Northern Ireland: Catholic or Protestant. Compulsory Christian RE and worship in our schools simply no longer fits with our society and the Assembly should bring about a radical overhaul of our education system in particular as soon as it possibly can.’ In 2021, 28% of the population ticked that box. The 2021 Northern Ireland Census, released today, shows the number of people identifying as non-religious has almost doubled. The share ticking ‘Presbyterian’ shrank from 19% to 17%, ‘Church of Ireland’ from 14% to 12%, and ‘Methodist’ from 3% to 2%.

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