NI Young Life and Times Survey - 2020_21: Community Relations Comments

Year: 2022
Module: Community Relations
Variable: COMMENTS

Below are the responses to the open-ended question:
'Is there anything else you would like to say about community relations in Northern Ireland?'
Note: Responses were only edited for grammatical reasons, if necessary. Square brackets indicate where editing occurred.

People/ children from my own experience don't really understand different denominations of religion and sometimes have their own prejudice views on what they believe e.g. Catholics or Protestants believe. More should maybe be done to educate children on different religions and beliefs and attempt to remove those stereotypes.

All good , although can be unsafe in certain areas for different ethnic groups

There should be more programmes to teach young people (under thirteens) about racism and prejudice

I think people in Northern Ireland lack respect for each other.

I feel as if people in N.I have deep-seated issues when it comes to accepting others, especially in terms of religion. It's getting to the point where people have to fear for their safety depending on what area they're in. For example, my friends and I recently got caught in an orange march while walking the streets of Larne. One of my friends, who's name I'll keep private, was wearing a GAA t-shirt at the time under his hoodie. The fact that young people like us could get into bother simply because of a t-shirt is disgusting, and at that time I'd never felt fear greater. I'm not too well educated on the subject, and I've only recently began to think on it, I'd heard stories of paramilitaries and gangs, of Loyalists and Republicans and I never believed that people would go to the extents of violence and murder because of a political or religious view, up until I started looking into it not long ago.

I think we have come a long way since the times of the good Friday agreement, the Sunningdale agreement etc.. We should continue to educate and promote equality and acceptance to the people of Northern Ireland

I believe that religious tension has always been very extreme in Northern Ireland and with how things are taught to those living here I cannot see it ever going away, at least not in my life time.

Things are normally good between Protestants and Catholics but what we saw last spring at Lanark Way was unacceptable (riots etc) this kinda moved us backwards as a community and I feel like we need to keep going forward

As someone who has grown up mainly in England, where religious tension isn't really a thing (the same way as it is here), I've never understood why people do the things they do just because someone's beliefs are the slightest bit different (Catholic and Protestant). I also think that all the young children who go out and fight for their religion have no clue what is going on and just want to be seen as tough because for 50 years the violence hasn't worked so I don't understand why it continues.

I believe in Northern Ireland religion affects people’s behaviour and how they treat people. I have noticed this as I have gotten older and believe the beliefs of others should affect how you treat someone.

I think there has been a lot of improvement since the troubles in many areas of sport and communities but the hate between both sides is still around today

not really

There can be a lot of sectarianism

Could be worse but they could definitely better

I believe we need to focus less on just Catholic and Protestant tension, because while it is still an issue, both communities direct racist rhetoric towards other ethnic and racial minorities. I hear so many slurs used within my school and racist jokes, but I also hear these disgusting words used by the older generations in this county too. I believe the racism towards Black, Asian, Latin, and Romani people in this country is much more of an issue than Catholic and Protestant tension, but since it is so normalised action is rarely taken.

We have come a long way since the trouble which I believe many people my own age don't realise as the progress we have made is incredible but the lives and hurt experienced are being quickly forgotten. I am not saying it isn't amazing how far we have come as a community, I am only saying I fear that if we are not educated on how we have grown together, history may repeat itself as prejudice, discrimination and sectarianism are still and may always be present in Northern Ireland. So instead of forgetting what has happen we need to learn from it because we have learnt the hard way that violence is not the answer.

I currently go to [integrated school] and even though I am Protestant all my school friends are Catholic which I think shows how great integrated education is. I think there should be more integrated schools in Northern Ireland to get more children involved in cross community activities.

I think it is too focused on divisions

As I have said before i think the different communities in Northern Ireland will always feel some sort of internal judgement towards each other, it is just the nature of this country. Catholics were brought up to hate protestants and to steer clear from them, as were protestants towards Catholics.

In my opinion it really doesn’t matter what background we come from, we're all people and we should treat each other like it.

They have been made worse by Brexit eg. the Sea border and the possibility of a Sinn Fein government in the next elections

I go to a catholic school in XXX Belfast, and although I do like my school, I feel like it isn’t very inclusive of all races and ethnic groups. Almost everyone in my year in school is white, and I would say that only about 7-8 people are not. I would like there to be more diversity in my school cause i like learning about other cultures and religions. Overall I just don't think it’s fair to have such little diversity in schools currently

I don't know

I feel there is a lot of general hate towards minority groups where I live, I also have witnessed a significant amount of hate towards Catholics in particular.

The people in Lurgan dislike the people from Portadown

There is a very varied relationships throughout NI, where I'm from personally, there is quite a good relationship throughout the community from people of all religion and ethnicity, however it doesn't go unnoticed in in other areas of NI there is still a range of bias and division throughout communities.

I have nothing to add

It could be more welcoming then seeing flags and murals spread about giving people a sense of relief that they are safe other than feeling discriminated against

I think the older generation who experienced the Troubles care more about religion because of the impact it has left on their lives, but hopefully in the future with newer generations that people won’t mind as much about religion

Sectarian violence has been a problem for years and is unneeded as well as dividing the communities.

I think communities are somewhat divided to this day. Sometimes I feel afraid to go outside or in certain areas in a sports t-shirt or in my uniform. I would prefer to live in a 50/50 non-rural area so I could learn about others within the community, as that would lessen my fears.

I don't know my Mum and Dad protect me from bad things

I think that everyone should be equal and not care about what others think but that's physically not possible, especially in this world and it takes all sorts to make us unique

I personally don’t really get involved with Catholics and protestant as i live in an area which don’t need to worry about that type of thing, although i know that northern Ireland isn’t a very inviting place and that people do attack people from other backgrounds though i truly which this didn’t happen as at the end of the day we're all human and just trying to make our way through life no matter where we came from. Diversity is very important as we learn about different ways people live, dance, eat and live their life.

I feel as though my culture has more of an impact on my future and that i don't necessarily see myself as religious, although i do hold views that would be stereotypically catholic. I plan on sending my children to a catholic school, not for segregation, but for the opportunity to learn the Irish language. Segregation plays no part in what i plan to do with my future but unfortunately due to the divide in communities and their beliefs, it does. I feel as though a lot of people my age feel the same way and it is the older generations who i douche the community more. I've been sent to a catholic school all my life so have had limited opportunities to make friends with protestants, i have had a few friends from the protestant religion and our beliefs have made no difference in our relationship. I would be keen to make more friends from other religions. I also feel strongly about the mistreatment of the Travelling community, they receive unnecessary hatred from both Catholics and protestants and there are limited actions put in place to mix these groups.

We need to do something about how prejudiced parents influence their children because that is where the worst of it comes from

More cross community schemes available in mid ulster area. Very few in more rural areas. Tend to focus in Belfast and Derry. Also programmes such as cross community learning with other countries in exchange programmes also tend to only be offered to certain schools

Hatred of community that is different from our own has been passed down from parent to child since the beginning of time if the government put more fun than 2-years programs or learning about different languages and Culture young people today could begin to break that cycle of hatred and when my generation of politicians move in the power that hatred won't be quite as ingrained and they could sit in Stormont together instead of giving up so they can lead as an example to their children

Younger generations are far less prejudiced than older generations

I would personally believe that Northern Ireland is quite a close minded place when it comes to religion, ethnicity and sexuality. Unfortunately i do not believe that over time things will get better, there will always be that one person that disagrees or has something to complain about, it is practically impossible for full peace because that’s not how we are in this country. I believe this country is very opinionated and will be extremely reluctant to even the thought of changing.

I feel there is a lot of prejudice ingrained within the community and steps need to be taken to remove this barrier and allow for young people to feel safe in different communities

I think overall the community in Northern Ireland are very friendly but sometimes there can be some disagreements and 'bumps in the road'

It is not diverse. Schools especially teach one religion and one religion only with the complete knowledge that students from another will be attending. I do not expect them to teach every religion but I expect them to not force children into learning it. Secondary schools have a full class for it and primary schools have to say a prayer every assembly. Primary School also completely brainwash pupils into thinking it is the only one and I was not made aware that there were such things as evolution and other religions, I now know this and have my own beliefs but being a kid and not being told this is wrong. Each Church and school teach a different thing even tho it is all about the Bible meaning that most of the stuff being taught isn't even true and proves points of it being messed around a little. I also think making safe spaces for people of certain groups in the area will help (gender/age/sexuality/race etc) I will give the example of my school again. They have never taught any of us about troubles such as hate crimes against people of colour, LGBTQ+ ect. I have mentioned already I go to an all girls school which has made no effort understanding that every pupil that attends may not be a girl (gender identity). We are made to wear a sexist uniform - SKIRT ONLY (and to make matters worse my skirt was changed from short to long because of male attention, Male teachers and LENGTH?!? that is actually sexualizing children. Instead of making females feel like they're the problem, teach the ACTUAL PROBLEM not to be THE PROBLEM) my uniform also covers every bit of skin on my body except from hands and face. I have a friend who goes to my school WHO IS A BOY and wears trousers to school and home again but during school is made to wear the skirt. My school is also not confidential and makes no effort to understand struggles at home. In primary school they split boys and girls up into different rooms to get "shouted at" when really they were talking about our bodies, in secret. I was taught about my period, well to a certain extent, they never mentioned the word 'period' or anything that happens which was silencing. My friend was also too EMBARRASSED to explain it to me so I sat there the whole day clueless. I also think we should CONSTANTLY AND PROPERLY teach about bigger problems happening on earth and how to fix them, for example, global warming and climate change, extinction etc. I have more to say but expressing myself Through a survey is not ideal.

People should be more respectful to people from other cultures and be willing to listen and learn from them rather than be rude to them because their culture and practices are different from theirs.

I feel that not everyone in Northern Ireland has an opinion on what happens. The larger protestant groups seem to rule roost and what they say goes pretty much. I feel northern Ireland can be improved if we all listened to each other :)

I hope they get better and I believe all you communities must change aspects of their traditions and beliefs in order for thing to improve.

Parents and having influences on how their children act towards other children of different religions to theirs

We really do like to keep to ourselves which should be worked on.

I feel at our age many people don't care anymore about where you come from, well at least I don't

I think that the older generation has put up a lot of barriers for young people’s views on community relations and eventually those barriers will fall in the next 10-20 years.

Where I live on the north coast, People from different groups seem to get along just fine for the most part.

I feel that between young people there is less prejudice in different religions than with the older people in society

i think that children should be encouraged to take part in activities with different groups of people instead of the divide between sport etc. so that they grow up with friends from different backgrounds instead of growing up with people of the same ethnicity and religion which can lead to ignorance and prejudice like those in the generations before

The marches and bonfires harm community spirit and relations, and in the future for there to be improved relations between the Catholics and Protestants this needs to end.

I believe that not nearly enough is being done to improve community relations within NI. The divisions that existed 30 years ago are still very apparent, but nothing is been done to improve them. I feel that politicians on both sides of the sectarian divide are too busy bickering and blaming each other for problems that would easily be resolved through co-operation. I wish that I was given the opportunity to receive my current standard of education in a mixed community environment, but instead I’ve felt forced to attend a Catholic Grammar School as there are simply no other alternatives.

I think my school and the community in that area make a lot of effort to do cross community and shared education throughout both the high schools and primary schools. Also going to school in a predominantly Catholic area and there being multiple Catholic secondary schools and an integrated secondary my school, although not being protestant or in any way discriminatory has become a predominantly protestant and atheist school but there are many activities and core themes throughout the school year that are firmly rooted in good community relations and respect for others.

People will never be able to live as equals as long as there is religion because people struggle to understand that others have their beliefs and we have ours

Since the troubles I think with kids especially relations are a lot better as we just see them as other people it doesn’t matter to us as much if they are Protestant or catholic.

I think that until we can get away from religious based politics things will not change. I believe a good start would be keeping religion out of education, leaving that to individuals and their communities.

It's not only about the community it is more so the people within the community

Hopefully things change for the better and continue to do so

People should respect each other a bit more and try to improve their relations.

Needs to improve but should be targeted at older generation as they are the ones who influence the younger generation on their views on the other religions. They are the true source of the problem in 2022 and need to be stopped making havoc to the younger community

Generally quite nice but I always feel a small sense of distaste between some people

I think they are pretty good

Northern Ireland community relations has improved from the past couple of years but there is still a long way to go. In certain neighbourhoods they are still considered to be nationalist or loyalist and our community still do fight and protest about gender, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity a lot. We still have a long way to go for Northern Ireland to have a good community relation but we have made progress and more young people are growing to accept people of all backgrounds.

On the bus Catholics and Protestants are separated however we still get along

I hope it improves because honestly there's still so much prejudice here.

I don’t believe it is a safe place for anyone no matter your ethnicity or religion

The recent incident with Noah Donohoe speaks volumes of the sectarian relations between the Protestants, PSNI and Catholics

Racism seems to be more prevalent in poorer communities

I think it will maybe become a little bit less of an issue but with generations passing down the word and it getting taught in schools the issue will always be an issue

Needs to improve

I think that for a lot of people community relations has been greatly affected by the troubles but that people my age haven't had to experience that first hand so there opinions can and will greatly differ from that of generations before. I also feel that parental and family opinions can greatly affect young people views and opinions because it is the way that they have been brought up.

I think there will always be some sort of barrier between people of different religions. I think some people are brought up in a certain way and will always stand by their opinions but I think people are now starting to realise that there isn’t a difference between people of different religions and that we can all live as one without having to involve our beliefs

Personally I find that the difference between people of religions doesn’t impact my life that much as the majority of my friends are catholic and although I’m not religious I was raised more Protestant and it has never had an effect on our relationships or how we view each other. It has also never effected my school life even though I attend a catholic school

There is not much I need to say about it.

The older generations are holding grudges and are influencing their young children or grandchildren. Positive changes begin within the home and progress outwards. Traditions such as bonfires should be swapped for more universal means of celebration open to all.

No not really community relations have been better recently

I’m Protestant and my best friend is catholic and we never have any problems but living in what used to be a Protestant town and now it’s mostly catholic can be quite annoying as it used to be Protestant and now it’s been took over

There should be more shared education. Schools should not be allowed to have only 1 religion.

Recent protests from the unionist community in regards to an Irish Sea Border, the Nationalist community in regards to Brexit and the tension regarding the upcoming election have had a negative impact on community relations in NI

Religion shouldn't decide what people think of each other

I feel as though relations in Northern Ireland are improving and will continue to improve and i hope that in the near future people can forget about religion and treat each other as one. I also hope to see a lot more mixed-religion schools.

I don’t see the bitterness ever leaving as people are literally killed because they wear the wrong clothes in the wrong town

I don’t know

No, not really.

Not really

No I believe everyone should get on

The more diverse and different people (LGBTQ+ etc) are more kind and caring than any other people I've met. The argument that Protestants are bad or Catholics are bad is ridiculous because they're both either lovely or horrible. Religion has nothing to do with how nasty a person may be, unless of course religion drives their horrible actions towards others.

F*** the pope

They are awful because old people with sticks up their asses keep pushing their ideals

It’s not the best I go to a catholic school and we joke about Protestants now and again but my friends who are Protestant do the same it’s all fun and games for 99% of people my age nothing serious no one really cares and awful lot

I feel for the most part they are fine however around the 12th July tension forms

People of the North hold onto the past and can’t get over themselves, i grew up catholic and if some protestants know that here i know they won’t have a good reaction solely because of the grudges everyone here holds. People need to get over themselves.

I believe that the continuing generations are beginning to care less and less as a result of it becoming outdated. People are more acceptant now of others and not just in Northern Ireland but the entire world and this influences children on a mass scale.

Many adults do not realise that for a lot of kids, (myself included) that we do not at all care about if you are Protestant or Catholic, Unionist or Nationalist. It’s the parents of the kids, and the adults that never shut up about it (and the political parties such as Sinn Fein and the DUP that throw up the Yellow and the Orange the microsecond an election is needed) that cause children of my generation to become politically motivated. These acts of shared education don’t actually do anything. They attack the issue at the head. Not at the root. At least that’s my opinion on it. As someone who is a non-sectarian Centrist.

They're not awful but not entirely wonderful either.

I think the community relationships have gotten better, but could still get better

Some people are too close minded now

I think certain people have an extremely set mindset about the catholic and Protestant relations.

I'm not very affected by it only once in year 8 when you start a new school the pupils will ask you what you are but not again

I think in the society we live in Northern Ireland, prejudice is what we see all the time, and this will continue to happen for generations especially between Catholic and Protestant communities. I think community relations in Northern Ireland have improved slightly but they are still shocking and not at a respectable standard.

The concept of segregated religious schools only causes separation and backwards thinking in children. This is because of ignorance as children are more likely to be taught the idea of "us and them". I think that integrated schools should not have to be specifically called integrated because it should simply be the norm.

Community is valued in Northern Ireland but this is not always a positive. Over the years this has spread hate over local communities

I think parents can sometimes have an influence on young people in reference to religion. A lot of kids look up to their parents and sometimes their religious views and backgrounds will reflect on the child's religious views and backgrounds. For example, if a parent from a protestant background felt strongly against the catholic community, this may have an influence on how the child's views are raised from and vice versa.

Community relations within the North shouldn’t be examined on the basis of religion it should be done on a nationality pretext (Irish nationalists and British unionists) as people of different religious beliefs such as Muslim may refer to themselves as Irish or British but are obviously not a catholic or protestant and the day we realise there’s more to the entirety of Ireland as‚ taigs and huns‚ is the day peace will truly be achieved across all communities

not really

Community relations can often be poor as people put too much emphasis on nationalistic pride rather than trying to relate with each other. Too often people are ignorant and sectarian due to their small minds and refuse to learn about other cultures.

I think it is a massive problem, that even younger generations are developing hatred for others in different religions when they don’t actually have a reason to. Parents have a massive negative affect or children's view and beliefs. I also believe the Northern Irish government should be sorting these issues instead of having a government who doesn’t see the issues in our county make the decisions surrounding it. I also believe schools should be dealing with racist and discrimination in schools, creating an easy, comfortable way of reporting it.

People should mix more

I think the divide between Catholics and protestants adds to the humour of the north of Ireland, people like to have a laugh about the sectarianism instead of actually causing conflict around it.

I feel like forcing students to work in groups in Shared Education since they aren't really encouraged to work with each other, they don't have a choice. It's not a case of not wanting to co-operate due to religion, but with unfamiliarity to them as a person. It doesn't work as intended.

I believe Northern Ireland has a good community and listens to what the people have to say

I think community relations could and should try to be improved and people should not focus on someone else's religion or points of view, Protestant or Catholic. We are all people and should all be treated with respect.

grow up and stop caring about whether someone is catholic or protestant. it doesn't matter

Community relations in the north of Ireland can be at times very positive however I still think there is a lot of prejudice on people due to their religious orientation

There is still some hostility towards each side and it is through many young people as they follow the influence of their parents. There is still segregation present even within what food places you can eat or if it’s safe to walk there. Religion will always be a problem in Northern Ireland, no matter the attempts made to improve it

I believe that the cross community relationships are improving

I feel more focus should be targeted to the matter

That i believe that all minorities' should participate in team activities to show them that. There is not a lot of difference between them

I go to a catholic [school] even though I am in a minority of a different religion but still feel welcome and equal

I love it

I have been brought up in my family without really knowing the difference between Catholic and protestant.

It’s not something I really think about, it does matter to me what someone’s background is

I don't know much on this subject, sorry

So mostly really depends on the area that you live in places don't really seem to care whether or not your Catholic there are some areas that do for the most part though seems to be quite know I'm really is much as they would use to yeah I'm saying for the most part really just depends on your area my area seems to be just fine a mixed religions and stuff like that might be different people

I feel powerless, it’s not improving as resentment and tension has grown since the troubles by just listening to how each side talk among one another or online

no matter what our religion is most people do treat each other as equal and i hope it stays that way as we are all only human

While we are natural divided by schools and activities, we can never hope for future generations to respect those not sharing their views.

I answered these questions with the way i act and believe everyone should, act and behave without care or concern with whatever thing a person might consider themselves to be a part of. Just have decency.

I think that everyone should just be open to accepting people from other communities we are all human no one deserves to be discluded

I believe that split schools are a large part of modern disagreements etc.

I find that community divisions is also very common between all types of Christians, and other religious groups, for example Muslims. Christians have more initial prejudice against eastern cultures than they do western

I think people should learn to accept each other for who they are and let people live their own cultures and lives

I feel that different areas are definitely worse for prejudice and discrimination. And i think that in these areas such as the falls and the shankill, they should be more diverse; so everyone feels safer

relations between the use of people in their cells

I think people should accept each other for who they are not based on their community backgrounds.

Upon reflection, despite being a stereotypical Protestant unionist, my social circle is quite diverse. Approx 20% catholic, 20%atheist and 60% Protestant‚ with some added gay ones as well.

I hope that somewhere in the future there is a Northern Ireland where different communities won't attack or have hate towards each other and accept that people have different opinions.

Gender discrimination is a constant struggle in Northern Ireland

i don’t know

The teachings from Schools, and/or parents regarding the Troubles in Northern Ireland may have a strong influence on what their kids are like, for example, if a child grows up in a Strong Protestant family, and hears about Catholic Bombings/events then they are more likely to be prejudice towards the Catholic Community and vice-versa for Catholics towards the Protestant Community. This also relates to schools, for example teaching Northern Ireland and the Troubles in History at a GCSE level may cause those with strong opinions to express those opinions, or those without a view to form a prejudiced view after learning about the events occurring from both sides.

I wish it would all go away, i hate violence and always have, as most do. I always crave a sense of peace to be able to walk down the town and not be bombarded with flags that have no meaning to me as it’s not fair and we shouldn’t be labelled or defined by who or what we chose to believe in, all around northern Ireland needs to do better. i myself come from a protestant family but i share no interest in identifying myself by religion as it doesn’t give me a feeling of contentment, people are too obsessed with grudges and fighting over religion, when most people don’t even know the difference between a protestant and a catholic, this may sound harsh but religion in northern Ireland is damaged, people have forgot that religion is meant to be a spiritual thing and in your own head, not a reason to pick a fight in the bar on a Saturday night, thanks.

Catholic schools and Protestant schools should not be separated as it creates aggregate between the religions. Proper understanding of racism should be taught in schools in order to teach children the importance of equality as well as proper education in sexual orientation and gender identity to let students better understand themselves and others. The Catholic ethos in schools should not be to push the religion onto students and force their beliefs, they should be able to form their own opinions. Religion in school is far too biased and R.E should be used by children to explore their religion and choose a belief system for themselves.

I hope we can all live in peace

Community relations between Catholics and Protestants can sometimes be strained which is seen in schools or exchanges between pupils on buses. I have firsthand witnessed unpleasant comments between the two religions.

People should not feel afraid of another person due to different backgrounds we are all the same and I have catholic friends and protestant friends and I get along well with both

I think that in areas that are mixed religions are more developed in acceptance and understanding of each other in comparison to areas that are primarily one religion or one ethnical group. If more areas had increased diversity I think a change in society would be evident, young people like myself are heavily influenced by those around us so if we were raised in a diverse setting we would view it as normal rather than develop a sense of division between groups of people which can lead to have set opinions on certain groups of people.

I've got nothing else to say.

Many people today who were raised very sectarian are still passing down those beliefs to their children, who are then spreading that hate to their peers and convincing them to commit discriminatory acts. Many young people commit these acts without knowing why anyone would actually do it, they believe it’s just how it is to be as they were raised that way. There is no right reason to be discriminatory but to do it simply because your parents taught you its correct is even worse, it shows how negatively some parents are raising children.

Just that there should be more youth groups to get the young ones of the streets and two different clubs meeting up and going on trips because I myself would love that

i think we should all accept each other as we are all the same and religion doesn’t matter

I think that people in very catholic and protestant communities are not over the troubles. In my opinion this is why Northern Ireland still has its divide.

It's sad to see such a divide and prejudice that the government could easily prevent with more cross community environments, like work and housing or more funding to help poverty stricken families who get involved because of debt and anger.

A lot of prejudice between different religious or ethnic groups in Northern Ireland (especially between young people) are not necessarily because of personal experiences but are rather just a result of the communities we grew up in and stereotypes we were fed. A lot of reason is conflict is generational teaching in my opinion.

i think that the wider community should be working harder toward integrating catholic and protestant communities.

Racism is more of a problem than sectarianism

Most parents teach their children their beliefs and that’s why young people have such strong opinions about the catholic and protestant issues. My mum and dad never have strong opinions or big disagreements over it but growing up other young people have influenced my opinions and own thoughts. I don’t have an issue with either communities but I think it all starts with parents teaching their children right from wrong.

community relations in Northern Ireland have not improved in the past 100 years

I feel as though the communities are still very segregated. there are no protestants that i know of playing Gaelic football and I’ve never actually met a protestant because of how segregated we are

Most of the bad relationships is a small minority of people.

I believe that community relations are gradually improving in Northern Ireland but that there will always be prejudice against other religions due to up bringing and influences

we need provided with more need eg money food and supplies

They aren't as good as they should be, for someone who wants to be proud of joining the armed forces, it’s not something I can share with very many people.

All religions should be able to go to the same school

Community relations start well in play groups and due to historical events a divide is created when Primary School aged children separate. There should be a vote for amalgamation of all schools and reform within education, health and civil service.

KILL YOUR MASTERS AND START AGAIN

People need to stop assuming that young people aren't prejudiced or sectarian anymore, lots of teenagers still care if your catholic or protestant, it’s not gone away. children from younger ages need more cross community education

Even in mixed schools there is still a clear divide between Catholics and Protestants. I would say that most people are still slightly prejudiced when it comes their corresponding group.

The sectarian side of Northern Ireland is embarrassing we are all the same religion just different versions. Also I don’t like this country and can’t wait to move as there is no opportunities

not really, although i find that irish boys tend to be casually racist e.g saying the n-word in songs, making fun of black peoples hair etc. makes me want to avoid them as a black person

I think schools directly affect community relations, and to improve the relations between catholic and Protestant the government should start with more mixed primary schools to learn from a young age about the diversity in religion as young children are more easily indoctrinated

I hope that they improve in years to come

The people are still developing but the war is Will still go on until we are united in one Ireland

They could be better & there could be more done to help community relations

I'm glad I haven't experienced any issues that these questions suggest exist here

They are very low at the moment due to the Irish Sea Border. This hostility needs to be resolved as soon as possible or tensions will increase again and Stormont will fall again, meaning that there will be no progress made in other areas of life. For example, the state of the NHS.

I feel that all cultures in all walks of life should interact with each other and certain religions should not be segregated to a particular part of the country.

I believe that young people my age are being fed information about the other part of their religion by old people and this creates an unprovoked rivalry between young people from both sides. I feel this is unprovoked as we did not live through any hard times due to religious rivalry (not in my area anyway) however, my area is very split when going into the main town as there is a catholic part and a protestant part and the schools are very split. Regardless of the stared education, the schools have done there is still hatred amounts pupils. As someone who grew up not being fed information to distort my view as well as being a headstrong person who makes their own decisions. I have been around both sides of my community and have close friends myself and mutual family friends who are from the other side of my religion. I believe there is more that can be done to stop this however, I believe that once older generations are gone and generations grow up and have children of their own the rivalry will lessen.

The community relations in Northern Ireland will typically remain the same as the children take their opinions from their parents and grandparents. Due to the trauma that the Troubles have caused it will take a long time for those wounds to completely heal and for there to be absolutely no prejudices towards the other community. However, due to all of the schemes that the government has provided I think that we are definitely speeding up the healing process which is definitely a positive and a sign that we are on the right track to finding peace.

It can be quite good at times and not as good at other times

There was never that many opportunities in school to be able to talk to people from different communities

I think young people don't know enough about the history. Personally I grew up not knowing there was any conflict in the first place. I think we need to educate everyone more, so people understand why we have things such as cross-community projects and where they are coming from.

Relations between local communities have been impacted by the NI protocol and Brexit (of which young people have had no say in) and relations will most likely decline over time if nothing is done.

Community relations are affected by political leaders banging on about religion when the religion a person has shouldn't matter or be an issue.

They are bad between prods and Catholics

I feel that people need to realise we aren’t living through the troubles any more. I understand that it affected all people living in Northern Ireland and will continue to effect the generations to come but I feel that we need to stop judging people based of religion and beliefs but on who they are as a person.

There should be more opportunities in my school and community for young people to meet and participate with young people from other communities.

I think that a lot of good work has been done so far to improve community relations but there’s still work to be done yet.

I think people are good at accepting others from different communities but I feel as though more work needs to be done to ensure everyone knows to be tolerant of people from different communities

My outlook on religion is based on how I was raised. I was always told to respect the differences and diversity of others and treat people how you want to be treated. Relations will only get better through educating and peer example.

In my opinion I think that there should be more mixed areas to promote a better understanding

There’s a lot of work to do to improve –

I think there are many prejudice people in Northern Ireland due to people simply taking on their family views instead of creating their own views

I think, being older now, I'm more aware of certain division and disagreements but I'm sure there were still difficulties five years ago but I was more sheltered from prejudice or sectarianism.

I think things won't change because people aren't trying to make a change. I think Protestants and Catholics have the same relationship now as they did five years ago, but people are just ignoring that there is still a problem because it's not as big as it was during the Troubles. There is still a problem, but people are ignoring it - not making an effort to change, because it's not as violent now. But it still affects us. Maybe not personally, but as a country. People think if they pretend it's not there then it will just go away, but I feel it, and so do my friends. We all know there is still an issue.

There is a huge stereotype of both sides of the barrier and in my opinion i don’t think that the stereotype will every change.

I think that every community should be able to get along without thinking about politics or religion as it van have a negative effect on society.

I feel religious belief is nowhere near as important which is sad for some but good for the overall health of Northern Ireland

We should not judge people on their religion, more on their personality –

People need to respect other people’s views and opinions and not discriminate so much and be more open-minded

Good

I feel like people In Northern Ireland don’t respect each other. And people who are considered "different" because of their religious belief most likely get it worse due to sometimes racist remarks. I find this sort of stuff mainly in people around my age.

i don’t know

They are developing in a way that is beneficial to younger children

It doesn’t change its old school thought processes. It’s stagnant and won’t move.

community relations are fine between all different kind of people living here even though I have been bullied and faced racism in my school, I feel that there are many nice people but the thing is that I do not really get involved in any activities because I usually do not hear about any taking place but if it comes to me I would love interacting with others to improve my English furthermore and get to know new friends and learn more about their culture.

young adults can be jerks to teens and it's really odd to see.

i wish everyone would get on a bit better as the prejudice in schools and workplaces are normally started by adults or older people pushing opinions onto their children creating a generational loop

I think nationalists should be allowed to display the tricolour whenever they want and not just during certain times in the year like Easter. If we want true equality and good relations between communities we should be allowed to display our culture and beliefs without the worry of being discriminated against.

A lot of issues in the community stem from peoples parents being narrow minded and believing that any other religion/ethnic background but their own is wrong and frown upon it leading their children to feel the same causing a pattern

Northern Ireland is very good at hiding the discrimination people go through, whether that be racism, homophobia, sectarianism, xenophobia etc.

I really do think the only way Northern Ireland can grow as a community is if Religion is cut out as its main conflict. Of course this is hard and years of work need to be done, but I don’t think the answer is Peace Walls or flags dotted across the place. There needs to be an actual push for mixed religion in every area and especially in schools

I feel that the majority of people from Northern Ireland from mixed communities and religions get on with each other very well.

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