NI Young Life and Times Survey: 2023

Year: 2023
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.

I wish everyone got treated the same no matter what religion they are or what they look like etc.

There is always room for improvement but I think recently the relationships have improved a lot.

Sectarianism.

Catholics feel intimidated going to majority Protestant Towns that have flags, murals, Kirb painting etc. we cannot wear GAA tops and may feel the need to give a fake name to feel less threatened which loyalist people etc. don't have to experience. It doesn't make sense why we should feel threatened and at the same time still have the respect not to have Irish flags at every lamppost half of the year.

People in NI feel very strongly about their individuals religions so it is hard to accept other religions but we do feel sorry for them and pray for them daily.

I wish religion didn't have an influence on anything or how you see people, as it doesn't matter to me or my family.

In a community, Northern Ireland seem to lack trust, and manner, which then may/causes drama between groups. Like what is happening now with the attacks in County Down.

They shouldn't be so segregated.

Catholics are often not welcomed into Protestant spaces as easily Protestants are to Catholic spaces.

Sectarianism is still rife in Northern Ireland and it's a massive problem. Many young people do not feel safe around those from different communities and this breeds fear. I've personally been victimised for my nationalist views and it's horrible.

There is obvious separation in communities in areas of NI but around where I live there is little discrimination between the communities but as Brexit and the government changes I think that NI could possibly become a more hostile place to live.

Different cultures and hobbies so don't mix.

I feel that most people are very accepting of minority groups and accept them into sports and events.

Sectarian tensions are getting worse due to the new generation of extremists that did not witness the troubles.

I can't wear a GAA top or my uniform in Protestant areas because of my religion.

I think people hate on each other as soon as they find out they’re a different religion.

Need to improve a lot and soon for a safer place.

There will always be at least a little prejudice in the Northern Ireland community due to people growing up with others, e.g. parents who normalize prejudice due to a vicious cycle of being raised poorly. The only way to solve the prejudice in Northern Ireland is a fully integrated education system where prejudice is punished extremely but only for prejudice of different religions and ethnicities.

I think in certain areas the relations are very bad and I hope that the younger generation will change that, however I don’t believe we are going in the right direction to achieve this.

More cross community workshops and after school clubs in the area would really benefit the area I live in.

I believe the main cause of tension surrounding community relations in Northern Ireland is mostly based on political viewpoint and ethnic identity, rather than religion itself.

Rubbing religions into each others face is what causes the problems between Protestants and Catholics.

I think people are still bitter about the events during the troubles.

They are improving, but with constant conflicts in politics at the moment I'm not sure if they will keep doing so.

It's very divided.

From what I see walking to and from school everyday out of school you don't see or hear people openly discussing about their displeasure about religion, sexuality, race, age etc to how it was 5 years ago when I started attending secondary school.

Bonfires and marches as well as protests against it mocking other religions not only cause tension or even attacks between them all but ruin communities of families and people’s homes. I think bonfires especially are uncalled for have no purpose other than polluting the earth.

It is quite clear they are awful and I feel we are moving in the wrong direction. I also feel that they with the great prospect of realising a United Ireland community relations will only get worse.

Progress has been made over recent decades but there's still lots of work to be done at moving on from the past & building a better cross-community future.

Community relations are usually quite good where I'm from however I do notice people from mine and other religions can be prejudice to other religions.

This is not solely based on religion its settler colonists vs native population. It has little to do with religion but people’s political aspirations. Not all Catholics want a united Ireland and not all Protestants don't want a united Ireland.

I hope in the future community relationships will be able to grow.

Football and other sports can be sectarian.

A lot more can be done to improve them that isn't being done at present time. Parents are at fault for this for enforcing their own agendas on children and making them prejudiced against people from different communities.

I hate that religion is even an issue, it should be a personal choice and of no interest to anyone else. It is a waste of resources that be better used to improve NI for EVERYone!

Between most people in Northern Ireland, we're very friendly and don't care about religion or sexuality etc. However, hardline nationalists and unionists have a hard time agreeing with each other.

Both of them do not like the transgenders.

The whole argument of Protestants and Catholics is just downright stupid, so much violence for nothing.

They are quite strong, I get along very well with people of different groups and backgrounds in school and I have nothing against any of them. I am friends with a lot of different people of different backgrounds.

Young people my age don't really know about the troubles as much as we learn about them and I think there will be an increase in sectarianism as I grow up due to the fact that Catholic republicans and Prod [Protestant] loyalists will clash as these young people don't know about what actually was like in troubles.

All I could say, is for parents to educate their children.

I believe the younger generations are more open to integration than the generations before us. Hopefully, in the long term, young people can be brought up in a diverse community rather than feeling segregated due to their race or religion. I think integrated schools can play a large role in this as I feel more inclined to talk to anyone of any race or religion now having met a variety of different people at school than when I attended a solely Protestant primary school.

I think it has become a lot better, but I think we could still improve it, by even from first year of secondary school getting everyone used to the fact that there whatever religion or ethnicity is not better than anyone else's and we are all the same and learn how to make it work.

Youth has lots of agro.

DUP is a mess.

Peaked 5 years ago. Idiots r gonna ruin everything the people before us worked towards

I do think the relations between Protestants and Catholics have gotten better over the years but in some cases it would depend on the area you are in or the area you live in and if your family are strong believers. This makes it difficult for people like me to be able to go to certain places for fear I would get in trouble.

I think mixed religion communities will start to grow.

It’s a bit sad, i believe that we’re all Northern Irish.

There are none that are done effectively.

Relations are better now than they were 20 years ago but there is still a clear divide between Catholics and Protestants.

Made worse by politicians.

I mean really if you think about history, and not just here but in other countries, these kinds of things have always been a problem and will probably always continue to be, just in different magnitudes. Best to just get on with it, really.

Stop the violence.

In south Armagh which is where I live there has been great improvement as most people do not have the police and most people couldn't care less if someone was from a different background. I think there has been a great improvement over the last couple years.

I don't have a lot to say about this topic everyone should see each other the same.

Right now they’re bad I think.

If any teenager is prejudiced towards people in other religions it's usually because of their family.

There will always be disputes, its human nature to want to argue. Both sides feel the need to blame. There is a massive hatred for both Catholics and Protestants in Ireland and especially in Northern Ireland.

In my experience I have never seen any discrimination against a certain community, or even discussion about it, people just don't care about race/religion.

I think there will always be tensions in different communities over religion.

It can be improved. I always feel like there is a divide amongst each other.

The recent disturbances seem to be a bit alarming.

I think that a large part of the reason why hate still exists between communities is because it is taught to children from their parents so the cycle of hate continues.

They make a lot of effort to make people from different ethnic groups feel comfortable.

I find that it is very 'traditional' to stay within your religion and follow what parents believe in. Therefore many children are just brought up within these religions and not shown that there are many other religions and cultures.

No I think everything is good.

I just feel as though people from the likes of a small town like I live in should be less opinionated of people from different backgrounds or what other people's opinions and decisions may be.

I don't know what to say.

Landlords kicked my friends out of their family's house because they were not from the same ethnic group as them.

Generally quite equal.

I don't have any prejudice about members of other religions or minority groups etc I think it is more about the people and community you get rough Protestants and rough Catholics. It depends solely on how they were raised.

Some people now days still hold onto their old beliefs and some want to move away from it.

There is too much prejudice between communities and everyone is very sceptical of people from other religious backgrounds however I personally would like to get on well with people from other communities and learn about them but where I live prevents me from doing so.

I think that in general, certain political issues such as the Protocol and the cost of living crisis divide us heavily and the problem is exacerbated with the toxic political rhetoric of the DUP and the TUV. I think that with these politicians spewing hateful language and not being willing to compromise, the divide will only deepen.

If parents feel strongly about their religion, it would most likely pass onto their children. That's most likely where the hatred comes from different religion groups.

Nothing against Protestants

I know the war was not long ago, i just don't like how the segregation of Catholics and Protestants during the war still has an effect on those today. Not everyone is like this and NI is moving forward, but there is still a lot of hate being passed down through parents to their children (ceasefire babies). We should move on and not let it be such a big topic. It does not define people and especially does it not make someone worthy of hate. I have a lot of friends from different backgrounds and different opinions and the way we go about it is we don't talk about it because we do not need to. It does not give us reasons to stop being friends and it does not give me any reasons to not make new friends.

I think there should be more cross- community projects, especially in schools.

I believe that there are better community relations now than there was in the past and people have become more accepting of one another despite religious difference. I have been brought up in a split but mostly Catholic community, attending a Catholic primary school and a predominantly Catholic secondary school and partaking in numerous activities with other children of different religions such as my old basketball club or swimming but I also play GAA sports. Despite being surrounded by a mostly Catholic community my whole life and being taught of the tensions in the past, I believe that there are stronger community relations now.

As generations move on and young people grow up in NI I think we forget about religion and just see people as people and as friends because we like their style or their personality not that they're Catholic or Protestant.

I believe that Northern Ireland as a whole has done well to improve relations with the south but there is still discrimination in many forms which I believe isn’t taken quite seriously enough in this country.

I believe this country can be mainly racist within people in everyday situations not systemic racism. However with my experiences I have seen a lot of Asian racism black racism etc mainly from school kids my age and certain teachers showing racial prejudice.

Community relations are fine but the leaders are terrible.

The tension between Protestants and Catholics will never change as long as they are separated.

It will get increasingly worse unless something is done about it.

They are somewhat good, however I don't see things changing in relations in a sense of improvement as I believe it's now embedded in our culture and view on society.

I feel like it is mainly youth hating the other religion that I have noticed.

I am a Catholic and have had friends who were Protestants and part of the Orange Order who were fine, but it is the older generation (as in their parents) who were toxic and had a prejudice against me.

In relation to my answer in question 62, the reason I chose that response is because I think it's important for Catholic children to have the option to prepare for Holy Communion and Confirmation at a Catholic school.

They can be quite divided between religions.

I don't mind differences, so long as we don't try to force anything on each other.

Theres so much unspoken tension that people don't want to talk about Protestants or Catholics in good light because of the way they were raised. My mum is Protestant, my dad is Catholic, and I grew up not knowing a thing about the troubles but as soon as I joined secondary school in Belfast I was expected to know everything about it, and know why I can't go to certain places in my school uniform i.e. Shankill.

I personally think in Northern Ireland we are too focused on religion. In my opinion it shouldn't be as big as it is.

There are obviously Protestants and Catholics that get along although there is still some people from both communities that are "bitter".

I feel like it's less about religion and more about political views and affiliation. However, many of the people I know (including myself) care less about an "us and them" approach and more about benefiting us as a country and moving on as a society where we all have a shared common goal of bettering our facilities for everyone. I believe many people my age would categorise themselves as "other" while being brought up with a background in either "side".

Although I personally don't judge anyone based on religion, being part of a 'Catholic' or 'Protestant' area is teaching younger generations to separate people based on their religion and teaching them to be prejudice and uneducated about other religions.

I believe community relations are extremely important and I believe that they are better now than they have ever been. However I believe that if we put more harsher punishments on paramilitary groups then it would act as a deterrent and then relations would improve even more with less paramilitary groups

Needs to be more mixed and less prejudice and discrimination against both Catholics and Protestants

I hope that community relations improve. I do think that more people in my age group care less about religion and I have noticed that some people who talk about not liking other religions, don't actually feel that way but feel they should talk that way because of influence from their environment/people they know. I definitely think that someone's environment impacts their outlook on community relations.

I want to know more about other religions and communities here.

I was never fully aware of the sectarianism in NI until I learned about it in History. I've learned that it's a very touchy subject and many people feel deeply about their religious past. I will say that, as a religious minority, I feel less uncomfortable knowing that others have struggles with their religion too, and as weird as it sounds, I think it culminates a sense of community for me because I can relate to local people and their troubles with religious discrimination.

Both Catholics and Protestants still hold prejudices against each other, and I think shared education should take place more in secondary education because teenagers can appreciate the meaning behind it more than when, for example, I did a project with a Protestant school when I was 10/11.

I think many opinions on different religions that young people have are a result of their parents' views.

Personally I feel that religion shouldn't be an ongoing issue in 2023 however due to the past some parents and guardians who were adversely affected by the troubles are passing down one minded opinions to their children resulting in children already being opinionated.

I'm in a mixed family, in a mixed street and have attended integrated schools all my life and my friends are mixed religions and ethnicities.

Community relations are good but the government seem like they want to worsen them. It's annoying that the DUP are doing the whole protest thing, Sinn Fein never did that. Obviously, 'm not going to blame unionists but if they want NI to stay part of the UK they're doing a bad job. And I'd say if Ireland becomes united relations could worsen.

There are so many Romanian immigrants it is beyond a joke.

Not great.

Everyone is very friendly and kind to each other.

I do see certain offensive words passed around at school but it is always taken as a joke by both Prods (Protestants) and Catholics.

Paramilitaries (old and new) on all sides need to be dissolved and be sentenced for their actions. People need to acknowledge that violence and petrol bombs are never the answer and the police should not be so tolerant towards such extreme actions and groups who endanger society.

They're pretty good as long as you get to know people and become friends but some are quite threatening.

I believe it may depend on the Northern Ireland Protocol and the current affairs going on with Britain.

I think everyone should get along and mix during activities etc to find out more about different religions.

Older people encourage the divide more.

I think that the community in Northern Ireland is very quick to judge people from other religions.

That everyone respects each other.

Could be better needs to be more cross community involvement.

Would be nice for everyone to just get along.

Although I’m pessimistic about them currently and over the next few years, I think and hope they will eventually improve.

Yes, I think we need a lot more integrated schools and more cross-community projects not just for young people but for Older People too.

I don't have anything against Catholics some of them are all right but some of the are scumbags but it is the same with some prods [Protestants].

I think things won't get better until the older generation doesn't bring their own experiences within the community and teach their children to think the same thing would happen to them.

They need to drastically improve; and this needs to be strategised via a working and active devolved government. Until we get Stormont back, we can't expect any improvement in good relations across N(o)I.

Community Relations in (NI) depress me.

Effects people's manners.

No.

I couldn't care less whether there's a United Ireland or not or what religion someone is. Will people just wise up a bit?

Hope in the future that our kids will not have to grow up in a society that is not equal to everyone.

Intimidation is prominent.

I don't like the idea of bringing religion into education. schools should aim to educate on all religions and not separate kids from different backgrounds.

I feel relations can be good most of the time, but sometimes on days like the 12th and 13th of July Catholics might be discriminated against, as well as on days like Saint Patricks day when Protestants might feel discriminated against.

More should be done outside of schools to stop the segregation.

Everyone argues over things that don’t matter instead of focusing on the real problems. People are overly homophobic, racist and transphobic.

Most young people don't traditionally care about people's religion it is normally the older generation who grew up during the Troubles that truly care.

They need more financing, more mixed youth clubs more youth club in areas.

The negativity between Protestants and Catholics is very damaging to communities and can leave people feeling unsafe in their homes as well as the paramilitary groups found across all of Northern Ireland can make people feel very unsafe and causes a huge amount of damage.

Not great.

I feel as if everyone in my area keeps to themselves or a small group of people, there's not much collaboration within the community.

It depends on where you live.

They're not very good.

I think Northern Ireland is improving and hope that in the next 5 years it keeps improving even more.

First of all, you need to remain human.

In the countryside it’s really not all that bad, there are no actual tensions whatsoever.

I believe that the relations in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics can change over time due to the mixed schools that are in Northern Ireland and in primary schools. However, if children are brought up to know what their group is such as if they are Protestant or Catholic or part of a religion or an ethnic minority group they will automatically feel different from other people around them if their friends/peers say they are a part of a different group and feel that they are the odd one out.

I think that the council/government should take onboard younger people's opinions rather than older adults/older generations as we will be the ones that have to live with their decisions, it will affect us for the rest of our lives and we will have to deal with their poor choices and the results of their actions. I think young people's opinions should be from around 14/15 to 40/45 as our opinions have changed a lot since older generations.

There are posters in my town about violence and how they want to bring it back. My town is very paramilitary/loyalist heavy and it scares me.

I feel as if many preachers in Belfast City Centre forcefully put their beliefs onto other people, leading conflict to arise within the community, which I think discourages people and causes people to frown upon religious believers. Also, I have witnessed several discriminatory behaviours against the LGBTQ community from these preachers, as they have tended to be unaccepting and prejudiced towards the transgender and gay community. Furthermore, as of recently there has been a couple of attacks which have been linked with ethnic groups- for example Catholics and Protestants. I agree that these attacks have not gotten worse throughout the years, however, I do not think that they have gotten much better as these tensions still arise frequently. To be able to move forward in the future, societal issues like these need to be addressed appropriately, making Northern Ireland a more comfortable and secure place to live.

Religion is being overtly politicized, religion is about worshiping God, if you want to talk about republicans and loyalists call them republicans and loyalists.

I think a lot depends on your upbringing and what you are taught at home. There is still a lot of stigma about people depending on where they are from postcode wise. I do feel Protestant people I know are not as educated and are more bitter. I also think as I have lived outside or Northern Ireland in don't have an insular viewpoint. My parents are mixed religion but not practicing they just have brought me up to think treat everyone like you want to be treated and stay away from religion and politics conversations. My mum has always described religion like a car same brand different models and no one knows who's right or wrong so it's pointless to have anger based on things that you can't control in life or don't even know its 100% yourself. Religion and politics is a personal private relationship you have and that's fine but you can't go around telling everyone they are wrong and you are right.

I would like that community relations are better.

They’re very mixed depending where the area is some are very amicable some aren't.

I believe that children aren't taught that people of other religions aren't threats or terrorists. The parents have prejudice for no reason and force it upon their impressionable and naive children. This inherited hatred prevents the progression of development.

I feel like it should be less prejudiced and more understanding and inclusive of other ethnic religions.

Nope all good :)

I dislike a lot the fact that this country has separated schools and a few mixed school because of the religion this shouldn't happen.

Nobody seems to care anymore until someone does something to the opposite religion.

It is still a very divided topic, personally i think the Protestants are the ones that are keeping the hatred alive with the 12th and all the bonfires etc, also the amount of union jack flags in Protestant areas does not even come close to the amount of tri colours in Catholic areas. I've lived in Catholic areas for many years and I think besides St. Paddy's day I've only seen a handful of tri-colours.

Things are looking pretty bad, with the threat level rising, tensions rising things are not going to go well unless something big happens.

I don't know much about it but I think it's good to learn about other groups in a non-biased way

The XXXX high school brings in too many foreigners and is pushing the Northern Ireland population out.

Just get along better.

School didn't do anything towards my feelings towards other religious groups.

Just that Catholic schools should mix with Protestant schools during seminars etc to try and get rid of the stigma and prejudice that even I myself carry towards the opposite religion.

I hope they improve.

We're constantly getting better and in my opinion in only a decade or so everyone will have forgotten about the divide.

I think that there is still a lot of tension that shouldn't be there.

Not good.

I feel community relations can improve in a way. Small things can set off large situations and vice versa and i feel overtime more people will begin to care less about where people come from in terms of religion, sex and race as they are now desperate for peace and to move on from the likes of sectarian situations.

It will never change.

I feel it sets everyone apart and creates a sense of isolation for no reason. There is no need for it and NI should be a more welcoming place for everyone.

I would like to hope that relations have and will get better within NI especially with my generation being taught to be more open to other people’s thoughts and views. Though as of currently there is still a lot of tension for some people which is completely understandable given how every family in this country could most likely tell you someone they know who died during the troubles I don't think violence is the way to react about it.

Hostile in certain places.

Need keep working to improve relations and mix.

I believe the community should be more welcoming other ethnic groups and or people of colour.

I think relationships between people from different ethnic and religious backgrounds has developed lots recently as a result of exchange programmes and events organised by schools, I felt privileged to be part of one of these programmes and think they should be introduced into more schools.

I wish there was more integrated [schools], because I think it's a good way for people to learn and become accepting and tolerant of each other.

I think that community relations are quite segregated during times such as Saint Patrick’s day and the 12th of July but this could improve in years to come.

Differs severely from place to place.

I feel like the people close in age to me in my generation are taking small steps in accepting each other. I have Protestant friends who have not once discriminated against me. I have also dated Protestants and their families have been nothing but welcoming although what I do find is the older members in their family at the start are very uneasy until they get to know me.

No matter what, I feel there will always be problems with tension between religion.

I think the community relations could be better in Northern Ireland. I often see and hear hate towards other ethnic groups around my area and sometimes in school. I think we all could do better to keep this place safe as possible for everyone coming here and young children growing up in a safe environment.

The new UDA need to stop selling drugs and starting riots in [names town in Co. Tyrone].

We are forced to be religious in schools, such as singing songs or doing drawings, if we refuse these activities we are viewed as satanic. A stable government would be nice.

Yet again, I've never cared for religion. At this point the hatred is only taught. Honestly, I think by the point I am fully educated and even ready for work, this country is going to be so under fire because of this taught hatred that it will be like the troubles or worse. Nothing I can do about it tho. I'm only 16 after all.

They need to be better.

Overall pretty good.

They need to be closer together and equal. Religion should never play a part in any form of life.

I think its stupid the way Catholics and Prods [Protestants] can’t get on with each other and the fact it poses a threat to people in certain areas, that’s why i would choose to send my children to a majority Prod school.

I don't believe there really is an issue between Protestants and Catholics anymore I go to an integrated school where majority of people get along no matter their religion.

It is absolutely appalling, I live in a Protestant estate, and if you walk to the shop it will say on the side of a house "all drug dealers are targets-UDA" this house is directly in front of a primary school. There have been two shootings and like 5 petrol bombs in the last couple months and this is just the Protestant side, the Catholic side of town has a heroin epidemic, grown men acting like zombies outside primary schools, but everyone's worried with the price of living, maybe if you turned these places into normal towns without junkies and paramilitary scum maybe 16 year olds like me would feel comfortable walking around our own home but I live with the fear of getting misidentified and shot & grown men coming into my house. And that's not a joke it's a fear that all these children live with every day, that they can't escape cause it's all they can afford to live in is a council estate that is run by paramilitaries. It is a joke.

Probably won't change for a long time because It's the way people are brought up and they will pass it on to their children.

Our politics need sorted.

I think that the community relations in Northern Ireland is pretty good. sometimes there may be problems but mostly there is good community relations.

It is what it is.

Wish everyone would stop fighting and just get along. We bleed the same blood.

I think that there will always be separations in Northern Ireland, mainly because of religion and that not everyone will want to be a part of a mixed community, but I think this is simply down to the fact that people aren't educated enough in others beliefs, cultures and religion, for them to understand that having mixed community relations does more good than bad. So maybe people should start focusing on making a difference and learning about each others beliefs instead of putting up flags and painting curbs to intimidate others or 'mark their territory', which could all stop if people were educated and respectful of others around them.

The Protestants have too many celebrations each year and to improve relations between communities they should have one day a year where they can celebrate their culture instead of having many days where they celebrate their culture by being hateful towards Catholics. The same goes for the Catholics. These days should be about celebrating culture and traditions not spreading more hate throughout the communities.

I wish people were more inclusive and less discriminatory towards Protestant/Catholic people.

The younger generation has better community relations than the older generations.

I don't really understand the Catholic Protestant thing.

Some people can be blinded by religion.

Not much relations where I live but in other communities they have a big relationship definitely.

Not enough done to allow freedom in say what you can wear without fear of being attacked e.g. wearing a GAA jersey in Antrim.

There is a lack of respect and compassion for others across the community. we need to treat each other with more kindness and human decency.

Our political situation makes me frustrated. Narrow minded people vote for the same useless political parties each time and people insist on living in the past. Our country could be a great place to live if everybody looked to the future and agreed that no matter what religion we are we are all humans with the same needs and dreams. The government should stop highlighting the difference in people and focus on improving living conditions, education, health services and joint cultural events for all the people of Northern Ireland.

Relations between Catholic and Protestant communities are hampered by fear-mongering and self-serving unionist politicians.

I went to an Integrated Primary School and I think all schools should have an integrated ethos

I have never experienced any cross community conflict.

I'm glad I grew up in a family who treated everyone the same, unfortunately there's too many families who do the opposite and this is why we will always have problems in different communities.

I would like to think that the situation will improve but currently cannot see any improvements made as sides are segregated and learned prejudice is rife.

I wish they were better.

Community relationships have improved over the years however I feel without constant inclusion and teaching of different religions and ethnic groups, we can often slip back into our old habits of ignorance and unawareness. I also feel that young people are very quick to be more understanding and including however its older people that may refuse to accept that communities are mixing and that we should embrace that change.

I hope to see relations improve as I have no hate for anyone who hasn't wronged me but I know people think differently.

Still a long way to go and all schools should be integrated, however my particular view is religion should be kept out of education altogether and is a personal matter for the family, but all religions respected not just Protestant or Catholic.

I think it’s important to respect each other.

I think they have got a lot better compared to the past.

Youth work is an underated medium of allowing young people to engage in community relation building.

It changes a lot, depending on who people hang out with and where they go.

I think that community relations still have a long way to go and we should all strive to make our society less bitter and more accepting.

Religion is not that important but we make a big deal about it.

It depends on the person, whether I choose to socialise with them or not comes down to their personality, not their religion.

When it comes to the question of prejudice against minorities in NI, I picked not at all, however I think this is too vague, I try not to be, but the question doesn't take into account unconscious discrimination that I don't even realise I have done. A better response is 'I try not to be'.

Both sides should try to respect each others cultures instead of trying to get rid of the others traditions.

Protestants are the worst for sectarianism and cannot respect us Catholics just because their family's in the UDA and killed innocent Catholics.

As someone who studies both History and Politics I feel very strongly about what we need to do to improve relations in Northern Ireland as we should not still be in a state of constant religious prejudice as we thought with the Good Friday Agreement that there would be hope for a better future. However as of recent, violence is increasing and I feel in a few years we may be in the position that Northern Ireland was so many years ago. I think it is the Government's responsibility to set an example to the public by being able to sit together in Stormont and be civil as if the public see this reflected it is more than likely they too will be more civil to one another. This increase in violence is due to our flawed assembly at the moment and if we do not improve, the situation will only get worse. I believe that schools need to be educated on how to treat not just Protestant or Catholics but people in general and they should be taught about prejudice and discrimination at a younger age to set an example and create a future generation who will think about this teaching and hopefully think about their actions or step in if they notice someone being treated unfairly. However this is only good for the younger generation yet it might be the best hope as people who are older have already formed their own views and opinions and are stubborn making it hard to change their attitude towards others, however there is always an opportunity. Overall, I think the main question is how do we help change the stubborn minds of the older generation into more open and forgiving ones?

People are getting along better.

Though community relations have been developing in a positive way. There are still very negative views and relations between Irish people and people from an ethnic minority. Which I have experienced myself.

Integrated schools should become standard so all children better understand and respect others religions and ethnic backgrounds.

I feel like it will be a while before all the communities in Northern Ireland will become completely peaceful but we have obviously come a long way since the troubles. But i think there will still be some individuals who feel a particular way about certain religions/communities.

I think that everyone should have the right to express their culture as long as it does not offend another person.

They need improvement, especially between Catholics and Protestants,

Younger people don't care about religion if you’re nice you are nice if you are rude you are rude but younger people's parents have an influence on what they believe.

I feel that young people especially have a hatred for the religion they do not belong to despite them never living through the troubles.

I wish it wasn't so hard to feel safe in certain communities and that people wouldn't paint out others to be evil or awful people just because their religion is different.

They’re always going to hate each other.

Unfortunately, I believe that relations between different communities in NI will always be tense due to the past events that had overcome the country.

I feel that schools, or at least my school, have forced the idea that there is a divide between young Protestants and young Catholics and have forced us all into fixing it in various ways. I think by doing this they are turning us away from each other when we were never opposed to each other in the first place.

Not particularly. However, I do believe that's some places could be improved such as walkways etc.

I believe that forcing relations is not improving relations, teens merge with real life experiences not because we played basketball together as children in primary schools.

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