NI Young Life and Times Survey - 2017: Community Relations Comments

Year: 2017
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.

A more of a national identity instead of thinking we are British or Irish

Age, we're past the point of no return like

Although community relations have come a long way, I feel we have much more to do to create a more inclusive society.

Although i don't feel as if i see much change with community relations between adults in Northern Ireland, i think that my generation is more open minded and i hope that in time religion won't matter and people will treat other religions with respect.

Although they are improving in rural areas there are still quite old fashioned prejudices to those of different religion.

Although we have come far since the Troubles, I think we have a long way to go as in many places it's still what you are/where you're from instead of who you are and what you can do

Arlene Foster is ruining the lives of every Catholic

As Northern Ireland is a bicultural society and yet still has a lot of cultural issues I do not feel like we are ready to become a multicultural society as this would only add to the cultural issues in Northern Ireland. I think that strict immigration…

At times I can see cross-community relations getting better, then at other times they don’t show any improvements.

Barriers between different ethnic groups should not exist (peace walls brought down).

Between young teenagers the diversity has got worse, it's with the impression a group is better than the other.

Both communities need to not judge people based solely off 'religious' backgrounds.

Brexit will make things worse in the future

Catholics and Protestants have different political views but this doesn’t prevent social cohesion and good community relations. People feel most strongly about the reunification of Ireland and Brexit and although these issues are the biggest source of disagreement among Catholics and Protestants, there is no hostility because of that.

Certain events will always have an impact on how religion effects our views of each other due to rioting from both sides on St Pats and the twelfth

Certain people still argue over religion for no reason

Childrens views are being influenced by parents attitude towards catholics/protestants

Communities now just don't actively resent each other but are still slightly sectarian

community relations are awful, communities is divided by past grievances, that many including my generation do not understand, these grievances prevent us from interacting with others and overall leaves us separated more than barricades and peace walls ever could.

Community relations between groups in my area are quite good, I have yet to see prejudice or open hatred due to someone's religion, upbringing or political views.

Community relations have improved especially with the younger generation

Community relations in NI are ultimately improving, we have learnt to respect each other. At the end of the day we are all just people.

Community relations in Northern Ireland have improved due cross-community schemes however, it will take a long time for relationships to improve further.

Community relations in Northern Ireland would be better if everyone was able to look past how an individual has been raised by their parents

Could be better

Could be better but not bad either

Could be possible issues in the future regarding communities due to upcoming political deadlines

Cross-community projects don’t do anything. I don’t care about what religion people are but most people do, this probably won’t change any time soon. I don't care about what religion the people I want with me as long as they do their job.

Currently where i live in my neighbourhood it is a mixed community and when i'm there i don't think about my religion but at school it's different and you are reminded about it.

Depends on where you live

Depends on who you are dealing with. One hateful person should not reflect a whole community

Dislike for 12th July celebrations and flags in areas

Due to the increased richness of the cultural backgrounds and people of different ethnicities in Northern Ireland, the new generation are much more tolerant and open to these new changes, which show a considerable and positive change in the attitude

Due to where I live I realise that I do not have much experience with cross-community relations.

Each to their own. Loyalists and Nationalists are as bad as each other. They need to get over themselves.

Education about other communities within communities is poor and that is how prejudices develop. Education would clear up misconceptions about other communities and result in peace and integration

Every community should get the same treatment, that could possibly end some disagreements between different groups.

Everyone should be free and made to feel safe in their homes no matter what background they come from. They should not be made to feel threatened or unwanted in their neighbourhood.

Everyone should let each other live the life they want to. If you feel you're Irish, you're Irish. If you feel you're British, you're British

Extremely prejudice and divided

Families pass on their feelings towards other communities. The children need to make up their own minds.

Feel like younger generations are more accepting it is adults who are holding disagreement. I feel all separate religious schools should become all integrated so there is no divide

Flags in Bangor (Abbey Street) even after the Twelfth and still here now. Also being just down the road from a catholic church and primary school.

For the next decade or so the relations will not get better as people who lived through the troubles will always be prejudiced. As younger generations come through, they will not care and get better.

From my experience, generally both communities interact in a friendly way in my generation, but sectarian prejudice is sometimes passed down.

Hatred is fuelled by the media and others who wish to maintain divisions in NI. Moderate catholics and protestants are thankfully in the majority and live in peace.

Honestly I hope my generation will grow to ignore it all, however they are still brought up in very one version style of living in N.I

I am aware that not everyone in NI are settled on this subject but my area is good.

I am not protestant or catholic, I am atheist and hate the division in NI because of religion. Also our government shouldn't be dictated by religion. Our government should be run by our ideals and not religious beliefs.

I am of the opinion that religion is a personal thing, and so should not affect one’s thoughts about someone from another religion. Also as it is a personal thing I don't think it should be forced upon anyone and just because of 'religious beliefs'.

I am only 16 and I just think the politicians have a lot of work to do to bring both religions together. They seem to keep dividing us.

I am unsure how the problem could be tackled but i would like it of politicians could talk a lot more openly and get along better as it as the disagreements are doing nothing for northern Ireland’s future

I am very open minded to all religions.

I answered Question 45 differently as I do believe we should mix with other religions but I would want my children to grow up learning their religion in school.

I attended one of the summer schemes called TBUC which brought together people of different religions and upbringings. The summer scheme was held in [PLACE NAME] which is a place I feel strongly about as it has helped me to meet new people, gain new experiences and also become more confident with who I am but sadly this is now closing partly and the people responsible for the changes being made haven’t any idea what they are doing.

I believe conflict between the groups is inevitable as is the case with most religious groups living side by side, however we should do our best to avoid it

I believe integrated education is the way forward and I am disappointed that others appear to feel differently

I believe most of the hate comes from the older generations in N.I and that hate is passed on to the younger generations

I believe Northern Ireland could do more to help community relations

I believe relationships between different religious groups still require work to get over the past of Northern Ireland, however I seen how this will take more time and I think it will take many years to forgive the other side as each group have their reasons for disliking the other as many people were murdered because of their religion. The murders won’t be forgetting (nor should they be) and that is why the relationships between catholics and Protestants hasn’t healed.

I believe relationships could improve but due to the fixed mindsets of many people from both sides of the community, I think relationships will probably not change that much though I personally am happy with the current situation as it is much improved from the past

I believe that as a society we are learning to adapt to other religious beliefs and views, and will get better at it over the upcoming years

I believe that more could be done to help bring different communities together at a young age to prevent future feelings of fear or hatred to the ‘other side’

I believe that some people raised e.g. Protestant or Catholic, are not taught to show the appropriate respect to people in other community.

I believe that the conflict in Northern Ireland is more due to identity than religion - however, religion often gets pulled into it. I believe that the conflict lies more between the issue of feeling Irish/British than Catholic/Protestant.

I believe that we should all mix together, not only with our own community but different cultures and ethnic groups. I believe this is the only way forward to an inclusive, tolerant and peaceful society in our world today.

I believe we have a long way to go with cross community relations as it can still be a huge problem among people my age

I believe what you are taught in the home transfers to your beliefs as an adult. My parents have always had friends and family from mixed religions and so now I do.

I do believe that it's hard for Protestant and Catholics communities to come together as they are literal communities: segregated by where they live e.g. Falls Road, Shankill Road, etc. This is a clear sign of history repeating itself and I believe t

I do not always feel safe wearing GAA clothing out in public. I would like to raise awareness that people from the Catholic community feel uneasy about wearing such items of clothing for fear of either being physically attacked or verbally abused.

I don’t know anything else

I don’t often think about people’s religion I’m not sure people my age do

I don't believe any opinions will change as both communities refuse to compromise or change perspective for the sake of the other community.

I don't seem to see any obvious problems in my town.

I don't think protestant/catholic people have much problems anymore. I think people have become accepting.

I don't think that there should be separate schools for Catholics and Protestants. I think it contributes to prejudice and discrimination against other religious groups. I was never taught in school about the importance of equality and I don't feel l

I don't understand the arguments between religions if they all branch off from christianity. However they are gradually improving apart from relations in stormont

I feel as though there is a lot said about prejudice and relations within Northern Ireland, but there is not a lot done about them.

I feel as though there will have to be major shifts in the education and upbringing of young people for there to be hope of achieving the necessary levels of relations in this country.

I feel like most people in Northern Ireland can be very prejudiced against others from different ethnicities or religions.

I feel like there is still a large community of people who are prejudiced towards others on the grounds of religion or ethnicity but I believe there is an even larger community who are accepting of all of those around them. While we have come quite far I believe there is still a long way for us to go.

I feel peoples opinions on each other which are based off religion are judgemental and i would only want my children to be in school with people of the catholic religion because with mixed religions it can lead to different problems which i have experienced first hand. i do not feel catholics and protestants shouldnt get along but they wont get along due to people being judgemental when in reality, your opinion shouldnt be changed due to religion but your opinion should be changed when people take your religion into question when depending if they like you or not.

I feel that all schools, grammar and secondary and primary, should have mixed religions, as I feel it would help relations and co-operations between all religions.

I feel that as Brexit develops, the relationship between catholic and protestant parties will worsen in the issue of the border. For relationships to grow in Northern Ireland, the executive needs to cooperate.

I feel that community relations is more tolerated and welcomed in my age bracket.

I feel that people are easily offended nowadays. At the end of the day we are all human and we can tolerate other opinions even if we don't agree with them.

I feel that politicians are given too much power. The voice of the people isn't really being heard through these people. I also feel that they are manipulating the religious/political tensions to get votes. I feel that people should vote for a […]

I feel that relations between protestants and catholics have improved with our parents generation but our generation are being ignored to get worse

I feel that the community relations in Northern Ireland are a lot better than they were before, I also believe that will continue to get better but I doubt the indifference in the community will entirely disappear any time soon.

I feel that there needs to be better work within schools to promote cross community relations. As currently I don't think the programmes that are in place have any real benefit.

I feel that to improve community relations, there needs to be more opportunities for cross-community events

I feel that young people are hating each other from different religions because of lack of knowledge on years ago and what they hear at home. I think relations will get worse when Brexit happens.

I feel there is very little cross community work. I have had very little opportunities to meet other Protestant teenagers properly I think it would be great if I could go and play hockey or rugby with them and in turn teach them about Gaelic sports

I feel there should be more done to create more peace between the two religions as the current conflicts and feelings are too high.

I feel they have gotten better over the years and they will be much better in the future.

I find that the relations between communities are much better from when I came here for the first time.

I hate the way people are so much about religion, race, etc. I think everyone should have respect and get along.

I have found that there appears to be more hate and prejudice towards those from other countries of origin, such as the Polish and Chinese communities in Belfast than between Catholic and protestant communities, and we need to me more accepting of this.

I honestly do not care and wish we all could get along to better the future for people like me and the younger generations.

I hope people will learn to live, work and socialise together without any prejudice

I hope that one day there will be no divide at all between protestants and catholics but it doesn't seem very likely.

I only wish to see community relations improve however I do realise the bitterness between religions of other generations may be passed down to others. So these schemes definitely seem to help people realise we are all human.

I personally believe no matter how much anyone tries, there will always be an amount of conflict between different religions, especially in Northern Ireland

I personally feel like Brexit has been a turning point in the relationship between the Protestant and Catholic communities. I feel Brexit will strengthen divisions and hamper progress.

I personally feel younger generations are more open to cross community interactions as they do not hold any hostility like older generations do because of The Troubles.

I still think that there are still some religious and prejudice issues that need tackled but in general the community religious are definitely progressing.

I think any tensions that exist are pitiful and are the last generation's problem, I honestly don't care.

I think integrated primary education is extremely important, along with unbiased history lessons on the Troubles etc. in primary school.

I think it depends on the person to whether they are prejudiced or not. People’s upbringings will affect how they feel about other religions

I think it is crucially important to develop relations between Catholic and Protestant young people. I personally feel that we do not get to interact enough.

I think it is good for a community to be mixed so barriers can be broken down

I think it is other things that bring people together. For instance I play for a football team, that has both Protestant and Catholic players. But, it is not that aspect that makes or breaks relationships but the same passion for sport.

I think more work needs to be done for people of different backgrounds to mix.

I think older generations are more bitter and prejudice due to the experiences they have had.

i think overall the communities in small towns are quite good with working together however in the big towns there are still some conflict which i think will change in the new future

I think particularly in catholic and protestant schools that more effort should be made to mix with other ethic and religious groups, as i never really had the opportunity to do so throughout school.

I think that if people are taught tolerance at a young age then it can prevent prejudice and discrimination behaviour. Cross communication schemes definitely help understanding

I think that the older generation are still living in the past and aren't realizing that the younger generation are less interested in religion and politics than they were some years ago. This means that they are teaching their children their own views which may be biased opinion.

I think that the relationships between community in Northern Ireland if there were more schemes and programs such as Peace Players International, The Ulster Project.

I think that throughout the history the community relations were not the best but today I think that relations today are improving.

I think that unless more is done to socialise entrenched neighbourhoods people will remain divided. The school I go to is protestant and some are loyalist and many unionist, they would benefit from being made to see nationalist points of view and to

I think that, since I was younger, community relations have really improved (with the exception of a few events and or people who remain to live in the past). Personally, I think cross community relations will never be perfect, however that is probably the same in most areas in the world. In Northern Ireland however there will always be large groups of people who feel they cannot live or interact with a different religious group or minority group. The only way, in my personal opinion, to at least help remedy this problem is to address the unresolved issues from NI's very troublesome past. Also, this country is going nowhere with no Stormont and I think the main parties of our province need to put aside their agendas for the good of the country.

I think the community is quite divided in Northern Ireland and there needs to be workshops on community relations and cultural awareness for all age groups.

I think the divide has lessened and that my generation, generally, does not care about religion

I think there should only be one school for everyone.

I think they are getting better now

I think things have came a long way in Northern Ireland, but I have had negative experiences also, even though I went to an Integrated school

I thought they were really improving in my local area and that it was mainly only the older, more stubborn previous generations that were predjudiced and preventing progress, however I now know I was being rather na√Øve, as when attending various cross community projects I have been heckled by members of the other community, being made to feel unwelcome and as if I was a foreigner in my own city and I've seen that there is still a significance distance to go re community relations and harmony.

I was not brought up to think about others differently. Treat people as I want to be treated.

I wish that the older generations would stop being so prejudice with no reasoning to give

I witness more sectarian Protestants than Catholics. I have heard of more stories in which protestants were violent to catholics. The youth in my city, regardless of religion, are harmful to each other.

I would hope relations between the two communities would improve over time.

I would like them to get better

I would like to see more integrated secondary schools

I would like to see people move on and let go of the past.

I would personally like Northern Ireland to start @@@@ 'traditional' days such as 'St Patrick's day' and 'The 12th' and get rid of the protestant/catholic divide hidden in the meaning, for a more diverse country. I believe there are much bigger thing

I would say that their needs to be a settlement in the attitude of people within other-religions. Prospect needs to be shown regardless of what they follow or where they come from. Respect it's a universal term-time to start using it.

I would say that true 'religion' has less to do with community relations - good or bad - than tradition.

I would very rarely go into loyalist areas and when i do i do not feel welcome as a republican

I’ve helped run programmes and they’ve went well

I'd say that it is improving, young people are beginning to forget about the past and look past the religious difference.

Idk

If everyone wasn't so caught up on religion most people would get on better.

If mixed neighbourhoods and mixed schools were more common, I think it would help relationships between Catholics and Protestants, as well as other religions.

I'm a 16 year old Catholic girl who's best friend is a protestant and we met through music and concerts. We met through a band called 'One Direction'. Concerts are a great place for meeting people and becoming friends with people from different religions

Improving with time, although some hostility remains.

In my experience there are a lot of 'labels' in Northern Ireland. Very often people are seen as their religion, race or sexuality, rather than as a person.

In my eyes they are declining amongst older people but improving amongst younger people.

In my opinion Ethnic or National groups should not 'fight' against each other

In my opinion I think that relations have improved but I think N.I should have more integrated schools and more educational opportunities for adults and children as sectarianism, prejudice and racism is still prevalent

'In my own experience, I have never felt any tension between myself and Protestants (I am a "Catholic") however it is the prejudices and the opinions of the older generation who instil that prejudice onto us as young people. If more focus was put on breaking the stigma that "Protestants/Catholics are bad don\'t go near them", then I think it would pass down generation to generation and Northern Irish religions could live together without hatred or sectarianism.

In Northern Ireland in my opinion people like to stay together

In Northern Ireland, I feel that, in some areas, particularly in Belfast, community relations are not very strong and that those from minority religions or ethnic minority backgrounds are often the target of anti-social behaviour and hate crimes. However, I do feel that this isn't as major an issue as it has been in the past and that we are slowly working towards building communities where all people are appreciated and equally respected. I do believe, however, that as a result of hate crimes or prejudice towards those from minority religions or different ethnic backgrounds Northern Ireland does not come across as a place where all people are welcome and respected and I feel that this is something which needs to change. I also feel that we need to have more communities in which people from all religions live as I think this would help to promote understanding of all religions and therefore create a more positive attitude towards different religions.

In relation to Question 40, I'd justify my answer with the experiences I have with other young people. I think sectarianism is becoming more normalised within groups of people my age. However, I don't think this is the same on the wider scale of Nor

In some places they are getting better in other places they're getting worse so it's hard to define Northern as a whole.

It doesn't matter what religion as long as everyone is safe and is getting along.

It is a lot better, a lot of young people I know definitely know religion is not the big barrier but some are still influenced by their parents

It is the education system that needs to do more to fix this as they need to teach young people how to be respectful and accepting of other people from different backgrounds

It isn't great in particular areas however it has got better

It needs to take in to consideration, that every citizen of northern Ireland should be treated as an individual and not be discriminated against due to their identity. We all deserve to live in a peaceful society.

It will take a few more generations, but religion is becoming less and less of an issue.

It's not as it should be.

It's pretty stupid

Just wish we all could live in safe and happiness

Killing brothers over a faceless God is stupid

Less segregation in housing would be good for relations

Lot of things have improved over the years

Many of the youth can be caught shouting 'IRA' or 'UVF' around the town. Which is quite intimidating.

Mixed religion schools are commonly the main cause of religious harassment.

More effort needs to be made to involve children in politics. Detach religion from political associations e.g. in this survey protestants and catholics were discussed but I would argue the most tension and relations issues are between groups e.g. nationalists and unionists

More likely than not the community relations stem from familiar teachings, therefore it is difficult to evaluate them per se.

Murals of paramilitaries shouldn't be allowed to be painted now. Flags shouldn't be flown from lamp posts as it looks so stupid and makes the area look sectarian when there could be people from other religions living there.

My area lacks opportunities for young people to mix with people from other religions and ethnic backgrounds

My town is particularly divided between Catholics and Protestants. I think some areas have better community relations than others, so we have to help the areas that don't.

N/A [5]

Needs more progress made in mixing communities and investment into funding positive community relations events.

needs to get better

Negative attitudes are being passed down as our parents had a difficult past which affected them and it will be difficult to ever move past that.

No [89]

No I feel that I have covered each topic throughout the questionaire

No it's fine

No one really cares about religion anymore unless they're old and have lived through the troubles

No, nothing

None [2]

None of it matters because we are all people

Nope [7]

Nope everything has been asked and answered

Northern Ireland is starting to welcome new communities.

not always friendly to emigrants form other countrys which results in bullying and loneliness on the victim

Not helped around parades season. Bonfires can increase strain on community relations.

Not myself, but other young people from both the catholic and protestant communities judgement of the other is prejudiced due to the opinions of out parents, who were more brought up during the Troubles in many cases. Usually these prejudices are.

Not really

Nothing

Nothing is changing. People still have the same mind set and it's being passed on to their children. Still a lot of sectarianism.

November 2016 - October 2017. Casualties of paramilitary style assaults: 71. Casualties of paramilitary style shootings: 24. This is not ok.

Older people are passing on their religious intolerances to their children. If this doesn’t change, we will never make progress. Where there are no effective influencers for young people to learn from, they will never learn

On both sides there are nice people and bad people; the bad people are holding the community back.

Organisations support cross community where shared education and specific cross community groups don’t

Our government think the relationship between catholics and protestants has improved but it hasn’t improved much at all.

Paramilitary's shouldn’t be allowed to decide who lives where. They should not have the power to remove people from their homes.

People are still casually sectarian, older generations instil their superstitions on younger people, like, me walking through a 'protestant' estate at night or young people casually throwing racist, sexist, homophobic words and phrases about.

People focus too much on the religion of other people. They should let other people believe in what they want.

People get on better now, but parents and grandparents hold children back from mixing due to their history of troubles.

People here are very focused on the past, they need to be more open minded to each other.

People in NI tend to only socialise with people from their area, they don't know people that live maybe 2 miles down the road.

People in Northern Ireland are very close minded about others, and I fear this will never change as people here are too stubborn to sway from their beliefs that other religions/ethnics are just as deserving of a good life.

People should stop being so obsessive about religion.

People should treat people with respect regardless of their race or religion. Over time, people will become more accepting of other minority groups in the future. If we treat others with the way we want to be treated ourselves, the world will become

Personally I am friends with both Catholics and Protestants but I don't consider myself either and we all get along well. But I do know there are still problems between Catholics and Protestants and I think it's stupid.

Personally, I believe that parents are the main influence on young children's views of the world we live in today and the people living in it.

Personally, I've never judged or felt threatened by someone of a different religious/ethnic background to me. Although I identify as Catholic, I do not think others religions are wrong and I don’t believe religion or ethnic origin are causes worth fi

Politicians are destroying community relations

Prejudice views need to be improved upon having real peace in the future by having mixed events

Prejudices and hatred for others are not things we are born with, it is through teaching and influence of parents and other adults surrounding children that continues the divide between communities.

Purely from my experience, I encounter little real religious threats, being a catholic who plays for a protestant football team, [NAME OF FOOTBALL CLUB], who also lived in a predominantly protestant town, [NAME OF TOWN].

Religion shouldn't be taught at school but instead at their places of worship.

Republican communities get more funded from parties such as Sin Fein, SDLP and Alliance and the loyalist community do not get support as no-one cares about the Loyalist community

Sectarianism has been replaced by racism. To be Catholic and go to a Protestant school is ok but non-white passing people of colour are guaranteed to be bullied.

Segregated housing leads to worsened community relations

Shared education programs and schemes help give a good understanding of other religions and cultures.

Some communities in bigger places are more built up and socialise with each other

some young people are being influenced by their parents and images they see to act in a certain way towards the other community. Sometimes this is positively but the majority of the time it is not

Sort Stormont out. We need a united Ireland.

Tensions between Protestants and Catholics causes children of each denomination to be bullied or feel awkward about their beliefs. This all comes from the actions of adults bringing their children up to think the other denomination is wrong!

That protestants shouldn't get Irish passports because of Brexit, they can go to England where their religion is more so followed by people.

That the community need to relate to each other more no matter if they come from a different religion or background.

That things will always be the same because of the amount of divisions between communities such as catholic schools and protestant schools etc, and we should try not to dwell on the past

The community relations in Northern Ireland is much better than what it was years ago. No one is looked down upon because of their community.

The desire to relate between communities has only destroyed or diluted the culture that made those communities unique in the first place. Conflict is preferable to stagnation.'

The divide is just stupid because if that was the first thing everyone asked about, then no one would get on with anyone because they think differently. We can’t all be the same, otherwise the world would be boring

The government need to sort themselves out to change it. If they can't agree little point the rest of us

The quickest way to end a war is to lose it.

The relations between Protestants and Catholics all depends on the government and what happens in Stormont in the next few years. All depends on the borders with Ireland and Brexit.

The statements of: 'You can only be a bigot if you're Protestant or you can only be racist if you are White' are unfair and untrue. These stereotypes are common. It is made out that Protestants must integrate, such as my school, when there is a near my Catholic school which has not got Protestants, with mass forced. Equality works both ways. Protestants in Northern Ireland are made to look like the villains.

The two majority parties in N.I taint communities. In my, albeit naïve view, the politics of N.I is a game of petty bickering and childish behaviour; this further drives our communities apart and works against any attempts to build peace between different communities

The western world in general has a newly found obsession with diversity and culture and I don't believe it is just. In my humble opinion, asking these types of questions repeatedly about partisan issues helps keep them alive. So far this survey has disappointed me because of having answered 57 questions about religion and race when they are entirely unimportant issues and I take an indifferent opinion on both of them. Economic issues, foreign policies and ways of ensuring a democratic system of politics is maintained in the western world are far more important than pointless partisan drivel.

The young generation (in my area) no longer care about religion and all get on

The younger generation are getting better with other religions and relations are starting to get better. The only thing that will stop the country from improving relations is the older generation.

The younger generation from the different communities are more willing and open to socialise with each other and make progress between relations in Northern Ireland. Whereas majority of the older generations refuse to move on from the past.

There are not enough opportunities to work, play & mix with other religions in my area

There are too many people trying to cause friction between catholics + protestant. Religion is not to blame. In the country there is none of the hassle. We all live + work together. People get on with their own lives.

There good

There is a definite need for improvement it has come a good way from where it once was.

There is definitely a divide between Protestant and Catholic communities however coming from a mixed family and an integrated school I don’t see much of this.

There is little to no community building especially in 'well off' areas.

There is not enough being done to welcome both religious and even more religions, together. I think sports should be less religious background and open to all religions.

There is still room for improvement - MLA's are not setting any sort of example to young people.

There should be no segregation. Children grow up only knowing they don't mix with 'the others# this is why we still have a lot of sectarianism

There will always be division unless the political parties completely change

There will always be very bitter people. That will only see there religion no matter what. Personally in the future I would like to see less of these people.

they are good but could be better

They are horrible and the schemes put in place don’t help. These schemes also targeted to those who are wealthier

They are improving however there is still lots of bigotry and hatred.

They are set to improve in the future, however the pre-existing resentment of older generations (many of which are involved in our politics today) keep the country back. There should be more focus on improving Northern Ireland as a country rather than whether we are nationalist or unionist

They aren't great depending on where you're from. Some Towns/cities have strong hate and others don't care.

They aren't very good

They aren't very positive

They can be tense at times, but overall, as globalisation continues, it seems to be improving.

They have been improving over the last couple of years, however I am unsure if they will continue to improve due to the political differences in Stormont and throughout Northern Ireland

They hope to be better in the future.

They need to improve.

They need to [be] improved for the sake of people's physical and mental wellbeing

They should be a lot better, more things should be done to improve the community relations especially with young people and schools should do more

They will never change to be better

They will not improve until people let the past go, and let their children build their own ideas and opinions.

They’re poor

Things are getting worse with the breaking apart of Stormont and religious differences are starting to cause friction again

To let go of the pas and stop hating each other for no reason. Religion has torn this country apart for decades, we are not so different at the end of the day, we are all just people. It shouldn’t matter what we believe in.

Today in Northern Ireland we should all accept each other for who we are and not based our opinions on their religion.

Today, there are many Catholics attending schools that originally would have been deemed Protestant. However there are very few Protestants attending Catholic schools - to me this seems unfair.

Too much is based on what religion you are when I think the main issue is whether you are British, Irish or from a different country. I don’t care where you are from or what religion you are but even these questions are based mainly on religion. I t

Tribalism in politics and communities has ripped apart Northern Ireland over the last few decades and it's sad to see parents pass these views down to their children. Hopefully in the future we will have the sense to move forward as an undivided country

Uniformly tribal/backwards

Vast amount of segregation

Very divided due to the way some people are brought up to act

Very little progress has been made as a result of selfishness from both main parties

We all don't tolerate same things if we do it’s different ways so that is a conflict in itself. It even happens in my estate as we are the only protestants in the estate our views are different to the others.

We are not always accepting of minority groups because they can sometimes behave odd and we are scared of this. Community relations between Protestants and Catholics will be under threat (worsen) after Brexit in my opinion.

We need to change our local government and leaders to young unbiased non judgemental people older people are too caught up with past. While terrible things happen, good may be around the corner

We shouldn’t judge someone because of their religion, or their nationality.

Welcoming

When the politicians cant agree there is no hope of progress in Northern Ireland. Disgraceful that they can't work together!

While it is evident the improvement between the communities, there is still so much to do so there is respect on both sides - and that respect should start in Stormont

While often the relations between communities is shameful, even nationally embarrassing sometimes, they seem to be getting better. This is most apparent among young people.

With regards to influence in decisions about local issues or Northern Ireland- I don't feel as though I have any impact as I don't have the right to vote, despite the fact that my future is being decided, especially in the case of Brexit. The Protestant/Catholic tensions aren't really as much of an issue for my generation, or at least in my area, as it was more our parents' and grandparent's issue, and now for us, it's something that we learn about and from in history. However, Brexit may negatively impact relations, with the regards of rights of citizens, such as where they can study and for what price.

With the peace process things are getting better. However, I do wish that we could all leave the past behind and work on a better stronger future together. I know that this is wishful thinking though.

Worsened by loyalist flags e.g. UDA flags in my village. Improved by alternatives in the community and via sport. People, especially young people, think it's cool to be sectarian.

would be good to see people move on and sectarianism in areas to be abolished

Yes! I think kids who go to youth clubs should have more to do. I did a mix group and still talk to the friends I met. It was an amazing time. I enjoyed meeting them, we need more of this. I did the group with [NAME OF YOUTH CLUB] and [NAME OF OTHER YOUTH CLUB]

Young people are very judgemental over religion. If they knew someone was of a different religion they would not speak to them and avoid them. This is before they have even got to know anything about them, only their religion. It creates a divide.

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