The case against Northern Ireland exceptionalism: the ‘Academy’, religion and politics

Today there is great interest in academic circles concerning the role of religion in the political world. The upsurge in recent decades of situations where religion has been linked to division and conflict has caused many to look closely at how and why religion can be important in politics.1 Northern Ireland provides a useful case study to investigate not just the role of religion in politics in one place, but also the different approaches in the literature to this matter. Over nearly half a century the situation in Northern Ireland has been the subject of intensive research from many academic quarters and disciplines. The conflict in Northern Ireland has often been described as arising from religious and national divisions and the impact of religion on politics has been widely investigated. An examination of how people have understood the position in Northern Ireland will help to cast light on this subject and on how perceptions of the matter have changed radically over the last half-century.