Northern Ireland ‘more Christian’ than England and Wales

Northern Ireland has a significantly higher proportion of practicing Christians than in England and Wales, new research reveals.

A survey conducted by the Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland (EANI) found that one in five people in the province say they are evangelical Christians; and one in every two people consider themselves a practising Christian. The figures are in stark contrast with the 2021 census of England and Wales, which revealed less than half of the population would describe themselves as Christian.

EANI said the findings ‘have challenged, surprised and encouraged us’. More than 1,000 nationally representative people were polled for the research and a further 2,083 (mostly Protestant evangelical Christians) took an online survey.

The research also revealed that while 40% of practising Christians said they were ‘evangelical’, 38% of practising Catholics also consider themselves to be evangelical Christians. Every week, 35% of people in NI pray, 23% go to church and 13% read the Bible.

EANI head David Smyth said: ‘We always suspected that the Christian faith continued to play an important role in life here… However, we are aware that evangelicals are often perceived negatively in the media. Our research confirms this, but also affirms that when people know us personally their responses are much more positive.’

He added: ‘Our hope is that this report helps those in government and media understand us and religiosity in Northern Ireland better.’

Dr Gladys Ganiel, Professor in the Sociology of Religion at Queen’s University Belfast, said: ‘My research as a sociologist has always highlighted the importance of religion in Northern Ireland. But even I was surprised that these surveys found such high rates of religious practice; as well as a much more widespread willingness to identify with evangelicalism than I would have anticipated.’