Catholics make up the biggest religious group in Northern Ireland for the first time since the state was formed a little over a century ago, a trend that will likely add fire to a debate over the region’s future in the United Kingdom.
A 2021 census released Thursday showed 42% of respondents identified as Catholic and 37% as Protestant or other Christian religions. In 2011, the last time a census was held, 48% identified as Protestant and 45% as Catholic.
While the prospect of reuniting the island for the first time since 1921 remains far off, religious identity has historically been a good indicator of attitudes to the region’s union with the U.K. The trend chimes with rising support for nationalist Sinn Fein, which became the biggest party in Northern Ireland’s Assembly for the first time in May.
