Year: 2004
Module: Community Relations
Variable: IMPACT

Below is a selection of open-ended responses that relate to the question:

'Thinking how you feel about the other main religious community, what do you think has been the most important influence on your views?'

[…] A few of your questions asked about are Protestant or Catholic favourable? Both religious communities are favourable; they are equally the same, and that is what I've been brought up to believe. I reckon the whole sectarian ideas come from the home or areas; even as a child you are liable to pick up hard feelings and anger towards your counterpart. I am confused about why people have so much hatred in their hearts; is it to do with history, is it because that is what they have been taught + brought up to do? […]

A lot of people are influenced due to the way that they are brought up and this causes a rift between communities, automatically without anything being done to cause it. The news and politics does a lot to reinforce these rifts as they are so visible on T.V. […]

All politicians are to blame. The only thing they agree is to disagree.

As a child from a mixed family I believe it is possible to live in peaceful communities. I believe that many rivals are from people who don't respect their religion as a Catholic or Protestant.

Both the Catholic + Protestant communities are equally to blame for the state in which our country is in today. Many of those who are involved in paramilitaries + sectarian riots do not even know of the original religious reason why there are different religions in N[orthern] I[reland]. I think many are influenced by school, friends + parents. Sectarianism is pointless + drags our country down.

I believe that people are letting religious biases be passed down from generation to generation and it is about time that this stops. Younger generations have a chance to change things and they should use this opportunity to make a difference in N. Ireland.

I believe that the people of Northern Ireland will never be able to live in a peaceful environment. This is because older generations can't forget the past and so they pass their bitterness and anger onto younger generations. People can't and shouldn't forget their history.

I don't think enough is done by the government etc, to ease the problem. I also don't agree with non-mixed schools & think that if all schools were mixed, students would learn more about the other sides' opinions & ways of life.

I don't think relations between Catholics and Protestants will ever really improve because religious prejudices are passed down from parents to their children. Religious hatred is not a natural thing; it is not in-born, it is created by people.

I think everyone should just get along. Some of my family + friends wonder why I socialise with Protestants because they were actually the cause of my granddad's death as they murdered him. I just don't understand the difference in us. I would love to see peace in the community.

I think it's all down to your family if you don't like Catholics or Protestants and Paramilitaries. If someone in your family is [in] an organisation you will probably follow in their footsteps. It's the upbringing you've had and the background.

I think strong views are still kept over these religions because of our parents' views. I feel the views will change as years go by.

I think that a lot of people from my community are blind to the true history of Northern Ireland and their views of hatred are merely based on morals + paramilitary influence.

I think that the tension will always be there due to parents passing on their traits to their kids. Most people who have potential in N[orthern] I[reland] by the age of 18 want to get out because of it and will move away. N[orthern] I[reland] will always have bitterness because of it.

I think the government should increase cross-community relations at an earlier age, after all the children of today are the adults of tomorrow. We carry the opinions we receive at a young age into our teenage and adult years.

I think young people nowadays don't have a problem with people from different communities; it is their elders that have lived with the troubles, who have sometimes bad opinions and therefore pass it onto their children. It has nothing to do with religion - just politics, however people just stereotype. I go to a mixed school and it's taught me to respect anyone and everyone, if they respect me.

If you grow up in a neighbourhood, e.g. [a] paramilitaries [e]state, then you are brought up to not like the other religion.

In the area I live in, people would not like me mixing with Protestants - I could even get beaten up + assaulted.

In the summer, I worked on a street reach team on [name of the street]. We cleaned up the area and played with the children. What I found out was that the children don' t know why they hate the Catholics. They hate them because their mum, dad or both parents tell them to.

It depends where you live and how you were brought up.

It's sad seeing children involved, like at band parades or whatever, because the poisoning had already begun at an early age. Uniforms are terrible. I had personal experience of people (Protestants) shouting at me because of my uniform.

Paramilitary groups like the IRA on UFF fuel [the] dispute between the two religions - also politics has a lot to do with attitudes.

Parents should be teaching their children that religion should not make people different. Parents should set good examples.

People base too much on the words Catholic and Protestant. Until people in Northern Ireland realize they are religions groupings, and 'not' political beliefs, nothing will change. And until parents give their children the freedom to form their own beliefs and opinions […], problems will only get worse.

People should encourage their kids to be friends with everyone.

The feud between Catholics and Protestant is getting better, but the cause is the parents .If we are to make the problem better we need to target the parents. They put the ideas into the heads of their children.

The way in which people act with religion I think is the way they were brought up to think.

There will never be total peace until parents bring their children up with open minds and educate them well.

When I was young a family member of mine was attacked by a person of another religion. I thought of them as bastards. But as I grew up I thought life's too short to be always hating.

I don't think relations between Protestants and Catholics will ever be better because everyone is being brought up in a prejudiced culture and the younger generations are being influenced by the older generations who already hold that attitude.

 

 

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