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Religious conflict in Northern Ireland
AUTHOR: PROF. ȘTEFAN ȘĂLARU
BACĂU  martie 2017
ISBN 978­973­0­21896­1
 
 

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I Defining sectarianism
 
 
      It is well known that Northern Ireland is still confronting with a delicate situation, i.e. the tensions that persist
in what sectarianism is concerned. Many have tried to explain this phenomenon, or, moreover, to give a reliable
definition that would best describe its characteristics. However, the concept encompasses such variations that it
is more than difficult to explain it and to give reasonable, rational arguments regarding the use of violence in
whatever anti-Catholicism and anti-Protestantism manifestations.
 
     Thus, I believe that in order to discuss about matters that deal with sectarianism, it would be best to try and
identify what it actually means, what does it imply and how it appears in this Northern Irish conflict. Although
people see this process within a series of individual actions, should we take a closer look, sectarianism has some
strong roots that even nowadays it continues to produce a lot of damage and harm to the Irish people.
 
It can be stated that sectarianism is not just a simple state of personal attitude or behaviour, nor just a matter of
politics and state power. It has different meanings for each person, especially when talking about the belonging
to the two communities, namely one community to Britain and the Britishness, the other one to Ireland and the
Irishness. On the one hand, those who have a more nationalist/republican attitude, the meaning of the word
‘sectarianism’ deals with the state power, with being in control of it and also with the idea of national identity and
the ways in which it can be preserved. Therefore, these people constantly try to rise the awareness for their own
identity and to acknowledge its tremendous importance without the interference of any exterior influences, the
Brittish included.
 
On the other hand, the loyalists/unionists look upon sectarianism as being something that concerns the
individual, the personal state of mind, along with the particular viewpoints that are ment to make a stand against
the Catholic ones. Thus, a Protestant can directly discriminate a Catholic person by all sorts of practices, whose
target is to make the interlocutor feel inferior, subordinate or even unworthy of any kind of good intentions.
 

However, sectarianism occurred in more than one certain situation, it had no limits, no boundaries and it had no
positive effects whatsoever. On the contrary, its side effects went so far that some people even lost their lives
due to the real practices of this corrupt conflict.
 
As it has been previously mentioned,the discrimination of all kinds, the religious difference, the pursuit of national
identity, the social stratification and many others are part of sectarianism because these are the main factors that
keep this conflict alive. Although people have tried in WIX.com.
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3/26/2017 sectarian­tensions | CAPITOLUL I
that no one can find a solution to it, problems continue to appear and each time they do, they provoke more Create a 
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more tensions among people. No matter the consequences, I believe that people will not stop from encouraging
such discriminating actions in the society they live in, because sectarianism has some very old roots that
throughout history up until today, they continue to make people act like they were supposed to fight between
them. Such misconceived beliefs made people act in a violent way, supported by old historic ideas, having a
great impact upon the social structure and the individual actions.
As  I keep trying to define this complex and elaborate  term, according to the Longman Dictionary of
Contemporary English, ‘sectarian’ is something that deals with violence, conflict and murder –which is exactly the
situation in Ireland-. ‘It is related to the strong feelings of people who belong to different religious groups,
supporting a particular religious group and its beliefs’. Of course that this particular definition, as there are many
others, tries to give a more simplified meaning of the process. However, the Northern Irish conflict has in its
center religion as the main factor, but, there are other little constituents that form all together the sectarian
phenomena.
 
In what the individual is concerned, the conflict comes out through various types of intimidation and harassment
against the members of the other religion, whereas, at the social level, it is determined by indirect institutional
discrimination and disadvantages. All in all, sectarianism itself is the linker between the differences of the Irish
Protestants and the Catholics, and it also helps to the construction of those dissimilarities. Further on, I am going
to try to give a more vast image of specific examples that would best describe the conflict that still exists in
Ireland today. Consequently, the following statements regard both history and politics and various laws that
allowed the English people to interfere in the welfare of the Irish people and in their own perception of Irishness
and national identity.

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