Religion by Country
Religion in Northern Ireland: Statistics, Demographics & Trends
For the first time, people from a Catholic background outnumber those from a Protestant one, and the fastest-growing answer is “no religion”.
Quick answer
In Northern Ireland’s 2021 census, 42.3% of people were Catholic, 16.6% Presbyterian, 11.5% Church of Ireland, 2.4% Methodist and 6.9% other Christian. 1.3% belonged to other religions and 17.4% had no religion, up from 10.1% in 2011. By community background, 45.7% were Catholic and 43.5% Protestant and other Christian.
- Largest group
- Catholic — 42.3%
- Largest Protestant church
- Presbyterian — 16.6%
- No religion
- 17.4% (10.1% in 2011)
- Data source
- Census 2021 (NISRA)
- Reference year
- 2021
Northern Ireland at a glance
Northern Ireland is still one of the most religiously identified parts of Western Europe, but the picture is changing. In the 2021 census, 42.3% of residents gave their current religion as Catholic, 16.6% as Presbyterian Church in Ireland, 11.5% as Church of Ireland and 2.4% as Methodist, with a further 6.9% belonging to other Christian denominations. Other religions accounted for 1.3%. The fastest change was among people with no religion: 17.4% in 2021, up from 10.1% in 2011 (NISRA statistical bulletin: Religion (22 September 2022)).
Religion in Northern Ireland is also measured in a way that is unique within the United Kingdom. The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) asks two questions: the religion a person belongs to now and, for those with no current religion, the religion they were brought up in. The second measure, “religion or religion brought up in”, is the basis for the community-background figures that are often quoted in public debate.
| Religion | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | 805,151 | 42.3% |
| Presbyterian Church in Ireland | 316,103 | 16.6% |
| Church of Ireland | 219,788 | 11.5% |
| Methodist Church in Ireland | 44,728 | 2.4% |
| Other Christian (incl. Christian related) | 130,377 | 6.9% |
| Other religions | 25,519 | 1.3% |
| No religion | 330,983 | 17.4% |
| Not stated | 30,529 | 1.6% |
| All usual residents | 1,903,178 | 100% |
The major churches
Catholic (42.3%, 805,151 people) is the largest single religious group, and its share has risen slowly over the last century. In the historical series NISRA publishes, Catholics were 34.4% of the population of the area in 1911 and 40.8% in 2011 (NISRA Census 2021 main statistics: religion tables).
Presbyterian Church in Ireland (16.6%, 316,103 people) is the largest Protestant church. It is also the group that has declined most in the long run: in 1911, 395,039 people in what became Northern Ireland were Presbyterian, 31.6% of the population. By 2021 the number had fallen to 316,103, despite a much larger total population.
Church of Ireland (11.5%, 219,788 people) is the Anglican church in Ireland. Its share has fallen from 26.2% in 1911 to 13.7% in 2011 and 11.5% in 2021.
Methodist Church in Ireland (2.4%, 44,728 people) is the fourth of the long-established churches.
Other Christian (6.9%) is a growing and very varied group. The full-detail table lists dozens of denominations, including Baptist (16,051 people), Pentecostal (11,198), Free Presbyterian (8,433), Evangelical (7,052), Orthodox Church (4,916) and Brethren (4,864), alongside 22,362 people who simply wrote “Christian” (NISRA Census 2021 main statistics: religion tables). The appearance of Orthodox churches, including Romanian (1,094) and Russian (606) congregations, reflects recent migration.
Other religions and no religion
Non-Christian religions are small but have grown. The largest in 2021 were (NISRA Census 2021 main statistics: religion tables):
- Muslim: 10,870 people
- Hindu: 4,190
- Buddhist: 1,542
- Pagan: 840
- Jewish: 439
- Sikh: 389
Measured by religion or religion brought up in, the “other religions” group grew from about 6,600 people in 2001 to 28,500 in 2021, roughly quadrupling (NISRA statistical bulletin: Religion (22 September 2022)).
No religion was the answer of 330,983 people (17.4%). Most ticked “None”, but the full-detail table also records write-in answers such as Agnostic (567), Atheist (475) and Humanist (241), and 781 people who wrote “Jedi Knight”. A further 30,529 (1.6%) did not state a religion. The census is compulsory in Northern Ireland, but the law sets no penalty for leaving the religion questions blank (NISRA guidance note on the religion questions).
Community background: the second measure
Because religion in Northern Ireland is closely tied to community identity, a person’s upbringing matters for many statistical and legal purposes even when they no longer practise or identify with a faith. NISRA’s composite measure takes current religion where there is one, and religion of upbringing otherwise. NISRA notes that this is broadly consistent with the Equality Commission’s “community background” classification (NISRA guidance note on the religion questions).
| Group | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catholic | 43.8% | 45.1% | 45.7% |
| Protestant and other Christian | 53.1% | 48.4% | 43.5% |
| Other religions | 0.4% | 0.9% | 1.5% |
| None | 2.7% | 5.6% | 9.3% |
2021 was the first census in which the Catholic community-background share (45.7%) was larger than the Protestant and other Christian share (43.5%). Twenty years earlier the gap ran the other way, by more than nine percentage points. The group with no religion and no religious upbringing has more than tripled in that time, from 45,900 people in 2001 to 177,400 in 2021 (NISRA statistical bulletin: Religion (22 September 2022)).
The age profile explains much of the shift. Among people aged 65 and over, 59.2% had a Protestant or other Christian background and 37.9% a Catholic one. Among children aged 0–14, the figures were 32.5% and 48.7%, and 17.2% of children had no religion or religious upbringing recorded, compared with 2.2% of those aged 65 and over (NISRA Census 2021 main statistics: religion tables, table MS-B31).
Religion by district
Religious geography in Northern Ireland is sharply local. Among the 11 local government districts in 2021 (NISRA Census 2021 main statistics: religion tables):
- Most Catholic: Derry City and Strabane (68.4% current religion Catholic) and Newry, Mourne and Down (68.2%).
- Most Presbyterian: Mid and East Antrim (32.2%) and Ards and North Down (28.5%).
- Most Church of Ireland: Lisburn and Castlereagh (16.3%), Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (15.9%) and Fermanagh and Omagh (15.6%).
- Most secular: Ards and North Down, where 30.6% had no religion. The lowest shares were in the west, including Mid Ulster (7.9%).
- Most diverse: Belfast, where 3.0% belonged to non-Christian religions, more than double the Northern Ireland average, and 21.7% had no religion.
NISRA reports that every council area was more secular in 2021 than in 2011 (NISRA statistical bulletin: Religion (22 September 2022)).
Churches, the state and equality law
Northern Ireland has no established church. The Church of Ireland was established by law until the Irish Church Act 1869 dissolved its union with the Church of England with effect from 1 January 1871, after which it ceased “to be established by law” (Irish Church Act 1869, section 2). That makes Northern Ireland different from England, where the Church of England remains established, and from Scotland, which has a national church; see our pages on religion in the United Kingdom and religion in Scotland.
Religion does, however, sit at the centre of Northern Ireland’s equality law. Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 requires public authorities, in carrying out their functions relating to Northern Ireland, to have due regard to the need to promote equality of opportunity between persons of different religious belief, political opinion and other groups, and to have regard to the desirability of promoting good relations between persons of different religious belief, political opinion or racial group (Northern Ireland Act 1998, section 75). NISRA cites these equality obligations, and workforce monitoring under fair employment law, as core reasons the census asks about both religion and upbringing (NISRA guidance note on the religion questions).
Many churches on both sides of the border are organised on an all-island basis, so the Northern Ireland figures are best read alongside those for religion in the Republic of Ireland, where the same broad trend towards “no religion” is visible.
How Northern Ireland measures religion
The 2021 census asked “What religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?”, followed, for those who answered “None” or did not answer, by “What religion, religious denomination or body were you brought up in?”. Both questions have been asked in the same form since 2001, and a religion question has appeared in every main census in Ireland or Northern Ireland since 1861 (NISRA guidance note on the religion questions).
Some points to keep in mind:
- Current religion is not modelled. Where someone returned a form but skipped the religion question, NISRA leaves the answer as “not stated”. Religion of upbringing is statistically imputed, which is why the community-background tables have no “not stated” category.
- Estimates cover the whole population. Census returns were received from 1,844,500 usual residents, a response rate of 97%; the remaining 58,700 people were estimated using the coverage survey and other data.
- Historical comparisons need care. Figures before 1926 are summed from the all-Ireland census, and NISRA excludes 1971 and 1981 from its historical chart because of the impact of civil unrest on enumeration.
For comparisons with other countries, see our religion by country hub.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main religion in Northern Ireland?
Catholic is the largest religious group, at 42.3% of residents in the 2021 census. Protestant churches together are the next-largest bloc: Presbyterian Church in Ireland 16.6%, Church of Ireland 11.5% and Methodist 2.4%, with 6.9% in other Christian denominations.
Are there now more Catholics than Protestants in Northern Ireland?
By community background, yes. Combining current religion and religion of upbringing, 45.7% of the population were Catholic and 43.5% were Protestant and other Christian in 2021. It was the first census in which the Catholic share was the larger of the two.
How many people in Northern Ireland have no religion?
In 2021, 17.4% of residents (330,983 people) said they had no current religion, up from 10.1% in 2011. A smaller group, 9.3%, had neither a current religion nor a religious upbringing.
Does Northern Ireland have an established church?
No. The Church of Ireland ceased to be established by law from 1 January 1871 under the Irish Church Act 1869, long before Northern Ireland was created.
Is it compulsory to answer the religion question in the Northern Ireland census?
Taking part in the census is required by law, but NISRA states that there is no penalty for failing to answer the religion questions.
Sources & methodology
All figures are from the Northern Ireland census, conducted by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), unless otherwise stated. “Current religion” is based on the question about the religion a person belongs to; “religion or religion brought up in” adds the religion of upbringing for people with no current religion. Historical shares are calculated from NISRA table MS-B22. Percentages are rounded and may not sum to 100.
- NISRA, NISRA Census 2021 main statistics: religion tables (tables MS-B19, MS-B21, MS-B22, MS-B23 and MS-B31).
- NISRA, NISRA statistical bulletin: Religion (22 September 2022).
- NISRA, NISRA guidance note on the religion questions.
- UK legislation, Northern Ireland Act 1998, section 75.
- UK legislation, Irish Church Act 1869, section 2.