Editing Northern Ireland (section)

===Religion===
{{main|Religion in Northern Ireland}}
At the 2021 census, 42.3% of the population identified as [[Roman Catholicism in Ireland|Roman Catholic]], 37.3% as Protestant/other Christian, 1.3% as other religions, while 17.4% identified with no religion or did not state one.<ref name="2021 religion"/> The biggest of the Protestant/other Christian denominations were the [[Presbyterian Church in Ireland|Presbyterian Church]] (16.6%), the [[Church of Ireland]] (11.5%) and the [[Methodist Church in Ireland|Methodist Church]] (2.3%).<ref name="2021 religion"/> At the [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011 census]], 41.5% of the population identified as Protestant/other Christian, 41% as Roman Catholic, 0.8% as other religions, while 17% identified with no religion or did not state one.<ref name="ReferenceA">Census 2011</ref> In terms of background (i.e. religion or religion brought up in), at the 2021 census 45.7% of the population came from a Catholic background, 43.5% from a Protestant background, 1.5% from other religious backgrounds, and 5.6% from non-religious backgrounds.<ref name="2021 religion"/> This was the first time since Northern Ireland's creation that there were more people from a Catholic background than Protestant.<ref name="first catholic majority">{{cite news |title=Census 2021: More from Catholic background in NI than Protestant |work=BBC News |date=22 September 2022 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-62980394 |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922001732/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-62980394 |url-status=live }}</ref> At the 2011 census, 48% came from a Protestant background, 45% from a Catholic background, 0.9% from other religious backgrounds, and 5.6% from non-religious backgrounds.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

{{bar box
|title= Religion in Northern Ireland – 2021<ref name="2021 religion">{{cite web |title=Main statistics for Northern Ireland Statistical bulletin – Religion |url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-main-statistics-for-northern-ireland-phase-1-statistical-bulletin-religion.pdf |website=NISRA |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-date=26 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326045543/https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-main-statistics-for-northern-ireland-phase-1-statistical-bulletin-religion.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Religion
|right1=Per cent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Roman Catholic]]|DarkOrchid|42.3}}
{{bar percent|[[Protestant]]/other Christian|DodgerBlue|37.3}}
{{bar percent|[[Irreligion|No religion]]/Not stated|SlateGray|17.4}}
{{bar percent|Other religions|LimeGreen|1.3}}
}}

In recent censuses, respondents gave their religious identity or religious upbringing as follows:<ref name="2001 key statistics">{{cite web |title=Key Statistics Table |url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/2001-census-results-key-statistics-report-tables.pdf |website=NISRA |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922220304/https://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/2001-census-results-key-statistics-report-tables.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="2011 Census data"/><ref name="2021 religion"/>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|-
!colspan=5|Religion or religious background of Northern Ireland residents
|-
!rowspan="2"|Religion / religion of upbringing
!rowspan="2"|2001
!rowspan="2"|2011
!rowspan="2"|2021
|- style="font-size:85%"
|-
|style="text-align:left"| Catholic || 43.8% || 45.1% || 45.7%
|-
|style="text-align:left"| Protestant and other Christian || 53.1% || 48.4% || 43.5%
|-
|style="text-align:left"| Other religions || 0.4% || 0.9%|| 1.5%
|-
|style="text-align:left"| No religion nor religious upbringing || 2.7% || 5.6% || 9.3%
|}
As of the 2021 census, regarding religious background, four of the six traditional counties had a Catholic majority, one had a Protestant plurality, and one had a Protestant majority.<ref name="religion brought up in">{{cite web |title=Religion or religion brought up in |url=https://build.nisra.gov.uk/en/custom/data?d=PEOPLE&v=COUNTY_NI&v=RELIGION_BELONG_TO_OR_BROUGHT_UP_IN_DVO&%7ECOUNTY_NI=6 |website=NISRA |access-date=17 August 2023 |archive-date=20 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820072645/https://build.nisra.gov.uk/en/custom/data?d=PEOPLE&v=COUNTY_NI&v=RELIGION_BELONG_TO_OR_BROUGHT_UP_IN_DVO&%7ECOUNTY_NI=6 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|-
!colspan=7|Religion or religious background of Northern Ireland residents by county
|-
!rowspan="2"|Religion / religion of upbringing
!rowspan="2"|Antrim
!rowspan="2"|Armagh
!rowspan="2"|Down
!rowspan="2"|Fermanagh
!rowspan="2"|Londonderry
!rowspan="2"|Tyrone
|- style="font-size:85%"
|-
|style="text-align:left"| Catholic || 40.1% || 58.2% || 32.3% || 58.8% || 61.3% || 66.5%
|-
|style="text-align:left"| Protestant and other Christian || 47.0% || 34.0% || 53.5% || 35.5% || 32.5% || 28.9%
|-
|style="text-align:left"| Other religions || 2.1% || 1.2%|| 1.5% || 1.1% || 0.9% || 0.6%
|-
|style="text-align:left"| No religion nor religious upbringing || 10.8% || 6.7% || 12.7% || 4.6% || 5.3% || 4.0%
|}

Several studies and surveys carried out between 1971 and 2006 have indicated that, in general, most Protestants in Northern Ireland see themselves primarily as British, whereas most Catholics see themselves primarily as Irish.<ref>Breen, R., Devine, P. and Dowds, L. (editors), 1996: {{ISBN|0-86281-593-2}}. Chapter 2 [http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/research/nisas/rep5c2.htm 'Who Wants a United Ireland? Constitutional Preferences among Catholics and Protestants' by Richard Breen (1996), in, Social Attitudes in Northern Ireland: The Fifth Report] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226220013/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/research/nisas/rep5c2.htm |date=26 December 2018 }} Retrieved 24 August 2006; Summary: In 1989—1994, 79% Protestants replied "British" or "Ulster", 60% of Catholics replied "Irish."</ref><ref>[http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/NINATID.html Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, 1999; Module:Community Relations, Variable:NINATID] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510203944/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/NINATID.html |date=10 May 2011 }} Summary:72% of Protestants replied "British". 68% of Catholics replied "Irish".</ref><ref>[http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/BRITISH.html Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey. Module:Community Relations. Variable:BRITISH.] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610101029/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/BRITISH.html |date=10 June 2011 }} Summary: 78% of Protestants replied "Strongly British."</ref><ref>[http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/IRISH.html Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, 1999; Module:Community Relations, Variable:IRISH] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610101003/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1999/Community_Relations/IRISH.html |date=10 June 2011 }} Summary: 77% of Catholics replied "Strongly Irish."</ref><ref>Institute of Governance, 2006 ''"National identities in the UK: do they matter?"''
Briefing No. 16, January 2006; Retrieved from {{cite web |url=http://www.institute-of-governance.org/forum/Leverhulme/briefing_pdfs/IoG_Briefing_16.pdf |title=IoG_Briefing |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060822152404/http://www.institute-of-governance.org/forum/Leverhulme/briefing_pdfs/IoG_Briefing_16.pdf |archive-date=22 August 2006}}&nbsp;{{small|(211&nbsp;KB)}} on 24 August 2006. Extract: "Three-quarters of Northern Ireland's Protestants regard themselves as British, but only 12 percent of Northern Ireland's Catholics do so. Conversely, a majority of Catholics (65%) regard themselves as Irish, whilst very few Protestants (5%) do likewise. Very few Catholics (1%) compared to Protestants (19%) claim an Ulster identity but a Northern Irish identity is shared in broadly equal measure across religious traditions."''Details from attitude surveys are in [[Demographics and politics of Northern Ireland]].''</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/Plain_English_Summaries/governance_and_citizenship/structure/index32.aspx?ComponentId=17242&SourcePageId=11746 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927051820/http://www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/Plain_English_Summaries/governance_and_citizenship/structure/index32.aspx?ComponentId=17242&SourcePageId=11746 |archive-date=27 September 2007 |title=L219252024 – Public Attitudes to Devolution and National Identity in Northern Ireland |website=University of York Research Project 2002–2003}}</ref><ref>Northern Ireland: Constitutional Proposals and the Problem of Identity, by J. R. Archer The Review of Politics, 1978</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ucd.ie/spire/text%20files/todd-achangedirishnationalism.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510015756/http://www.ucd.ie/spire/text%20files/todd-achangedirishnationalism.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2007 |title=Chapter 7 > A changed Irish nationalism? The significance of the Belfast Agreement of 1998 |author=Joseph Ruane and Jennifer Todd}}</ref> This does not, however, account for the [[People of Northern Ireland|complex identities within Northern Ireland]], given that many of the population regard themselves as "Ulster" or "Northern Irish", either as a primary or secondary identity.

A 2008 survey found that 57% of Protestants described themselves as British, while 32% identified as Northern Irish, 6% as Ulster, and 4% as Irish. Compared to a similar survey in 1998, this shows a fall in the percentage of Protestants identifying as British and Ulster and a rise in those identifying as Northern Irish. The 2008 survey found that 61% of Catholics described themselves as Irish, with 25% identifying as Northern Irish, 8% as British, and 1% as Ulster. These figures were largely unchanged from the 1998 results.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2008/Community_Relations/NINATID.html |title=Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, 2008; Module:Community Relations, Variable:IRISH |publisher=Ark.ac.uk |date=17 May 2007 |access-date=16 June 2010 |archive-date=10 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610101049/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2008/Community_Relations/NINATID.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1998/Community_Relations/NINATID.html |title=Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey, 1998; Module:Community Relations, Variable:IRISH |publisher=Ark.ac.uk |date=9 May 2003 |access-date=16 June 2010 |archive-date=10 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610044347/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/1998/Community_Relations/NINATID.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

People born in Northern Ireland are, with some exceptions, deemed by UK law to be [[British nationality law|citizens of the United Kingdom]]. They are also, with similar exceptions, entitled to be [[Irish nationality law|citizens of Ireland]]. This entitlement was reaffirmed in the 1998 [[Good Friday Agreement]] between the British and Irish governments, which provides that:

<blockquote>...it is the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they may so choose, and accordingly [the two governments] confirm that their right to hold both British and Irish citizenship is accepted by both Governments and would not be affected by any future change in the status of Northern Ireland.</blockquote>

[[File:Predominant passport held northern ireland.png|thumb|2011: Map of most commonly held passport]]
As a result of the Agreement, the [[Constitution of Ireland|Constitution of the Republic of Ireland]] was amended. The current wording provides that people born in Northern Ireland are entitled to be Irish citizens on the same basis as people from any other part of the island.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/?docID=243 |title=Department of the Taoiseach |publisher=Taoiseach.gov.ie |access-date=16 June 2010 |archive-date=1 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100701034610/http://www.taoiseach.gov.ie/eng/?docID=243 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Neither government, however, extends its citizenship to all persons born in Northern Ireland. Both governments exclude some people born in Northern Ireland, in particular persons born without one parent who is a British or Irish citizen. The Irish restriction was given effect by the [[Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|twenty-seventh amendment to the Irish Constitution]] in 2004. The position in UK nationality law is that most of those born in Northern Ireland are UK nationals, whether or not they so choose. Renunciation of British citizenship requires the payment of a fee, currently £372.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/697987/Gov_uk_fees_revision_2018.pdf |title=Home Office Immigration & Nationality Charges 2018 |publisher=[[Home Office]] |date=6 April 2018 |access-date=12 September 2018 |archive-date=30 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530035148/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/697987/Gov_uk_fees_revision_2018.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

In recent censuses, residents said they held the following passports:<ref name="2011 Census data">{{cite web |title=Northern Ireland Census 2011 Key Statistics Summary Report |url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/2011-census-results-key-statistics-summary-report.pdf |website=NISRA |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922201937/https://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/2011-census-results-key-statistics-summary-report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="passport held 2021">{{cite web |title=Main statistics for Northern Ireland Statistical bulletin – Passports held |url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-main-statistics-for-northern-ireland-phase-1-statistical-bulletin-passports-held.pdf |website=NISRA |access-date=22 September 2022 |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922093444/https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-main-statistics-for-northern-ireland-phase-1-statistical-bulletin-passports-held.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|-
!colspan=4|Passports held by Northern Ireland residents
|-
!rowspan="2"|Passport
!rowspan="2"|2011
!rowspan="2"|2021
|- style="font-size:85%"
|-
|style="text-align:left"| United Kingdom || 59.1% || 52.6%
|-
|style="text-align:left"| Ireland || 20.8% || 32.3%
|-
|style="text-align:left"| European countries || 2.2% || 3.9%
|-
|style="text-align:left"| Other countries in world || 1.1% || 1.6%
|-
|style="text-align:left"| No passport || 18.9% || 15.9%
|}