Introduction

According to the 2001 Northern Ireland Census there are 119 identifiable religious groups present in Northern Ireland and a further 366 other denominations with less than ten followers. 

Most of the religious groups are Christians of one kind or another, but the other main world religions are all presented in the Province. Some of the other groups included under religion would be better described as secular alternative life-stances-Humanists, Atheists and Agnostics for example.  

Perhaps unexpectedly, considering the perception of Northern Ireland as a very religious society, almost 233,853 people said they had no religion or did not state their religion.  

• Northern Ireland is traditionally seen as a Christian society made up almost exclusively of either Catholics or Protestants, but this has never been the total reality, and even the perceived reality is changing. 
  
  
• Ethnic and religious minorities in Northern Ireland have long seemed invisible, but now their presence is becoming much more evident and even celebrated. 
  
  
• Many of the members of the more-recently-present religious communities have their family origins in other countries within a generation or so, especially those who have come from India, Pakistan and Hong Kong. However, they also include families which have been present for several generations and people of British and Irish background who have chosen to join a different religious tradition. 
  
  
• The number of Muslims in Northern Ireland has risen steadily over the past decade, as has the number of Hindus. Both groups now have thriving community centres in Belfast, with growing activity elsewhere. 
  
  
• The Bahá'í come from a range of ethnic groups including many whose origins are in traditional Northern Irish cultures. 
  
  
• The Sikh community is centred mainly in the North West of the province.
  
  
• There are also some small groups of Buddhists of various kinds, mostly of local ethnic origin. 
  
  
• Jewish numbers have declined in recent decades as many young people have moved elsewhere but the Belfast Hebrew Congregation maintain a presence focused on the synagogue at the Somerton Road in North Belfast.
  
  
• The larger Christian Churches have experienced a continuing decline in their active memberships, and also significant population movements partly due to the civil unrest of recent decades. However, some of the smaller evangelical Protestant denominations have grown in membership during the same period. 
  
  
• Northern Ireland is slowly learning what it is to be a more overtly plural society. Some people find this to be an uncomfortable lesson, but little by little we are gaining confidence in our diversity.