It is a common misconception that religion in Northern Ireland is merely a marker of ethnicity. Particularly for Catholics, religion is thought to represent, but not play a part in constructing, social differences. This paper urges re-examination of how the relationships between religion and politics are conceived, and argues that analysis must extend beyond linkages between theological beliefs and political preferences. Other dimensions of religion, such as its role in the construction of community and identity as well as its institutional influence, are much more useful in understanding the social significance of Catholicism. The paper concludes that when these dimensions of religion are examined, we find that Catholicism is much more than an ethno-national marker, and has in fact been enormously important in the politics of conflict, and in the continuing construction of communal identity, in Northern Ireland.
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