Chapter 12

Do Orange and Green Clash?:
Residential Segregation in Northern Ireland

A. Logistics

Students’ Time Requirements

Activity 1: Mapping Religious Affiliation20 minutes

Activity 2: Index of Segregation30–60 minutes

Activity 1 involves making maps and analyzing them for patterns of religious segregation in Northern Ireland. That an increasing number of counties fall into extreme categories reflects the growing divergence of Catholic and Protestant residential patterns in Northern Ireland. You can stop after Activity 1 if you are pressed for time.

Activity 1 can be assigned as homework or done in class. It works both as an individual activity and as a group project. Activity 1 is an excellent follow-up to the GIS activity in Chapter 1. Students gain experience in making and manipulating maps and they can further experiment with how a change in class limits affects the image conveyed by the map.

In Activity 2, students use a spreadsheet to calculate segregation indices for Northern Ireland in 1971, 1991, and 2011. This is another way to come at the idea of spatial divergence. Although they can be done independently, Activities 1 and 2 are best done together. Students can see that there is more than one way to analyze spatial patterns: map interpretation in Activity 1 and statistical analysis in Activity 2. Emphasize that the segregation index is a number that tells you something about segregation. It is a rigorous way to compare different times and different places in an objective way. We have already seen that maps can give false impressions, so one of the purposes of an index would be to remove the subjective element of map-making from the question of how segregated an area is. You can discuss at the end which way works best and when you might use map interpretation versus statistical analysis.

The segregation index used here is just one of several such indices. Technically, it is known as the index of dissimilarity.Beginning with the4th edition, we added a new, detailed set of examples that explain what the index values mean in Activity 2.

There is one tricky aspect to Activity 2. In cell D2, students are asked to divide B2 by 558,800 (the sum of column B), and in cell E2, divide C2 by 960,300 (the sum of column C). The denominators of 558,800 and 960,300 apply only to the 1971 spreadsheet. When students calculate the segregation indexes for 1991 and 2011, they should consult cell B28 for the total number of Catholics in Northern Ireland and cell C28 for the total number of non-Catholics. These new totals should be used as denominators on the 1991 and 2011 spreadsheets. We have also placed these totals at the top of the screen.

Some students may ask whether it is possible to calculate the totals in the spreadsheet. Normally, it would be, but the HGIA software checks whether the students have entered the formula exactly as instructed, and returns an error message if not. We tried to keep the spreadsheet calculations as simple as possible.

B. Lesson Plan

I. Segregation is the residential separation of subgroups of the population

  1. Ghettos
  2. Results from discrimination by the larger society
  3. Enclaves
  4. Results from voluntary segregation
  5. Social distance
  6. Measures the likelihood of interaction between groups

II. Segregation index

  1. Index of dissimilarity: Measures the difference between the distribution of a particular group compared with asecond reference group
  2. xi/X is the percentage of the national total of group X (the minority group) that lives in region i
  3. yi/Y is the percentage of the national total of group Y (the reference population) that lives in region i
  4. |xi/X –yi/Y| will be zero if the shares are the same
  5. The other extreme case is if one share is zero and the other share is 1.0 (100%). In this case, |xi/X –yi/Y| will be 1.0
  6. Sum these values over all regions i
  7. The index ranges from 0 to 1.0
  8. Interpreted as the percentage of a group that would have to move to be distributed like the rest of the population
  9. Changing levels of segregation for U.S. minorities
  10. Ethnic neighborhoods in U.S. cities

III. Examples of regional-wide segregation

  1. Ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia
  2. Integration as a political weapon
  3. Apartheid in pre-1993 South Africa

IV. Northern Ireland

  1. Overview
  2. Located on same island as Republic of Ireland
  3. Politically part of the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”
  4. Northern Ireland is known as Ulster
  5. UK is richer and more powerful than Ireland
  6. Religious and language status
  7. St. Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland in the fifth century a.d.
  8. British adopted Protestantism in 1500s during the Reformation
  9. Irish now are mainly Catholic
  10. British now are mainly Protestant
  11. Northern Ireland is currently 45% Catholic, 55% Protestant
  12. English language was already used in many parts of Ireland before various British Plantations
  13. Protestants in Northern Ireland date back to around 1610
  14. Prior to British colonization, Ireland was divided into fiefdoms
  15. In Ulster, O’Neill and O’Donnell ruling families had long resisted British efforts to control them and modify their traditional social system
  16. British used a “Plantation System” to take Irish land and give it to British aristocrats and military officers
  17. The Ulster “Plantation,” however, took land from local Gaelic, Catholic aristocracy and gave it to Scottish migrants loyal to British and eager to own land, in order to alter the ethnic composition of the rebellious region of Ulster
  18. In the other plantations, the British colonizers mainly consisted of a few wealthy Protestant landowners whose land was farmed by local Irish Catholic tenant farmersand landless laborers
  19. By 1700, all of Ireland was under British control
  20. Centuries of Irish resistance to British domination
  21. British population in south was but a few wealthy landowners
  22. Ulster region, on the other hand, was majority British
  23. The south of Ireland broke with Britain in 1921, declared independence of Irish Free State
  24. Renamed Republic of Ireland in 1949
  25. Northern Ireland resists joining independent Catholic south
  26. The families of Protestants in Northern Ireland have called it home for several centuries anddo not want to join south or leave back to Great Britain
  27. Catholics tend to have lower socioeconomic status in Northern Ireland
  28. Terrorism has plagued Northern Ireland especially since 1969
  29. Irish Republican Army (IRA) hoped to force the British out through violence
  30. Cease-fire more or less in place since 1994
  31. Historic “Good Friday” settlement reached in 1998 between the British government, the government of Ireland, and Sinn Fein (“We Ourselves”)
  32. Power sharing collapse in 2002
  33. IRA disarms and renounces violence in 2005
  34. Representative Assembly elected in 2007
  35. Both groups in Northern Ireland cling to their separate identities
  36. Fraternal Orders
  37. Protestants known as “Orange Order” after William of Orange, King of England who consolidated Protestantism in Great Britain in 1690s
  38. Catholics’ color is green, after the “Emerald Isle”
  39. Irish flag is green, white, and orange in hopes of reconciliation
  40. Population change
  41. Catholics are gaining on Protestants
  42. Catholics have a higher birth rate
  43. Protestants are out-migrating faster
  44. Protestants have better farmland
  45. Many schools and occupations are highly segregated, as well as residences
  46. Spatial divergence vs. convergence

V. Introduce Activities 1 and/or 2, to be done at home or in computer lab

1.Review example illustrations of the Index values in Activity 2.

VI.Discussion questions

C. Answer Key

Activity 1: Mapping Religious Affiliation

1.1 The percent Catholic is growing fastest in the western counties bordering on the Republic of Ireland.

1.2 The percent Catholic is declining in counties adjacent to Belfast.

1.3

1971 / 1991 / 2011
Lowest category / 2 / 3 / 5
Highest category / 1 / 3 / 5
Total (Add numbers from lowest and highest category) / 3 / 6 / 10

1.4 The fact that an increasing number of counties fall into the extreme categories indicates greater spatial divergence of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. Between 1971 and 2011, more and more counties are projected to have either a very large percentage Catholic or a very small percentage Catholic. Thus, the Catholic population is congregating in Belfast and in the western counties while Protestants are congregating in the suburbs of Belfast. In 2011, fewer counties will contain an even mix of Catholics and Protestants.

Activity 2: Index of Segregation

2.11971.30171991.35772011.4545

2.2 Catholics are becoming more segregated with respect to non-Catholics.

2.3 Changes in the segregation indexes confirm the changes in the map patterns of Activity 1. The maps revealed a spatial divergence of the Catholic population from the non-Catholic population. Fewer counties contain an even mix of Catholics and non-Catholics. Catholics are increasing in Belfast and the western counties but decreasing in the suburbs of Belfast.

The segregation indices show the same trend. There is increasing spatial segregation between Catholics and non-Catholics between 1971 and 2011. In 1971 only 30 percent of Catholics needed to move to achieve a uniform distribution of Catholics and non-Catholics. In 2011, more than 45 percent will need to move to achieve a uniform distribution.

2.4 The spatial separation of Catholics and Protestants complicates the political situation in Northern Ireland. As the two groups separate geographically, there is less opportunity to come in contact individuals outside of one’s faith. Catholics see fewer Protestants where they work, shop, recreate, and go to school and vice versa. This can’t help but increase misunderstandings between the groups and complicate the peace process.

D. Discussion Questions

For what other types of groups can we calculate segregation indices? (Segregation indices can be calculated for racial and ethnic groups [African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians], immigrants, age groups, and income groups.)

Is the growing segregation of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland really any different from the increasing balkanization of American cities along racial and ethnic, social class, age, and lifestyle lines? Isn’t it natural for people to want to live near others who are similar to themselves?

What are the ramifications in terms of public service provision of growing segregation at either the urban or regional level? As people segregate themselves into distinct religious, demographic, economic, or lifestyle communities, they are less likely to identify with the larger community, and they are less willing to pay for the educational, medical, or other needs of people within that community.

What does the segregation index tell us about segregation, and what doesn’t it tell us?

A few years from now when the next vote on continued union with the UK is held, how do you think the vote will go? Why?

Can you think of any movies with ethnic segregation as a key plot element? (Do the Right Thing, Gandhi, West Side Study, the Great Santini, Boyz in the Hood, In the Name of the Father, Crying Game, Schindler’s List, just to name a few.)

Relating this activity back to Chapter 1, do you think the maps in Activity 1 gave you an accurate impression of segregation in Northern Ireland?

Can any neighborhood in the U.S. or Canada today be called a bona fide ghetto?

What role should religion play in the politics of the United States or Canada?

Should the United States openly declare itself a Christian nation, and many politicians today advocate?

Why was the separation of church and state one of the fundamental principles of the founding fathers and the Constitution of the United States?

Why would Israel have concerns about Arab Israeli population change relative to Jewish Israelis, similar to those that Protestant Northern Ireland has about Catholic Northern Ireland?

E. Question Bank

1. True/FalseA group is considered completely unsegregated if its members comprise the same percentage of the population in every district.

2. True/FalseA ghetto results from voluntary as opposed to involuntary or discriminatory segregation.

3. True/FalseThe Protestant population of Northern Ireland is indigenous to the land, having settled there before the Irish Catholics.

4. True/FalseA declining segregation index over time indicates spatial convergence of two ethnic groups.

5. True/FalseIf two groups become more segregated over time, it is called spatial divergence.

6. True/FalseThe color Protestants in Ireland use as their symbol is orange.

7. True/FalseThe “Troubles” in Northern Ireland continue to elude political settlement.

8. True/FalseThe British in Northern Ireland are mainly Protestant.

9. True/FalseThe Catholics in Northern Ireland outnumber the Protestants.

10. True/FalseThe reason why Ulster came to have a large Protestant population is because the Irish people there converted to Protestantism.

11. True/FalseA group is considered completely segregated if its members are make up 100% of the population in the districts in which they are found, and 0% of the population in the other districts.

12. True/FalseThe segregation index for a group that makes up 100% of the population in the districts in which they are found and 0% of the population in the other districts would be equal to 1.0.

13. True/FalseThe Jewish ghettos of Europe, and the Chinese ghettos of North America, decreased the social distance between the these groups and the general population.

14. True/FalseThere is no such thing as voluntary segregation.

15. A segregation index of 0.2 for Group X means that:

a.two people from Group X would need to relocate in order to achieve total integration

b.the population is totally segregated

c.the population is totally integrated

*d.20 percent of the population of Group X would need to relocate to be distributed like the reference group

16. Which of the following statements accurately describes the growth rates of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland today?

a.Catholics represent a clear majority of the population

*b.Catholic birth rates are higher than Protestants

c.Catholics are out-migrating faster than Protestants

d.the Catholic population is declining

17. What has happened to the segregation index of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland?

*a.it has increased

b.it has decreased

c.it has remained constant

d.it has followed a U-shaped path

18. Northern Ireland is:

a.part of the IrishRepublic

b.an independent country

*c.part of the United Kingdom

d.a colony of the United Kingdom

19. The residential mixing of subgroups within the larger population is known as:

a.segregation

*b.integration

c.ghettoization

d.plantation

20. Residential clusters that result from voluntary segregation are known as:

a.ghettos

b.integrated neighborhoods

*c.enclaves

d.plantations

21. A tenant farmer is:

*a.a farmer who rents land to farm

b.a farmer who pays the rent for his land as a share of his crop

c.a farmer who owns his land

d.a migrant farmer from another country

22. Social distance is:

a.a numerical measure of the mileage separating the weighted centers of two ethnic clusters

b.the residential mixing of subgroups within the larger population

c.a numerical measure of the degree of separation of two or more distinct groups

*d.a measure of the likelihood that dissimilar groups will interact in society

23. Apartheid was a policy of segregation in:

a.Ireland

b.the United Kingdom

c.Yugoslavia

*d.South Africa

e.the United States

District / Population of Group X / Population of Group Y
1 / 10 / 20
2 / 15 / 30
3 / 5 / 10

24. The index of segregation for Group X in the table above is:

*a.0

b.0.5

c.1.0

d.cannot be determined

25. In the table above, the population of Group X is

a.highly segregated

b.somewhat segregated

*c.highly integrated

26. Residential clusters that result from voluntary segregation are called:

a. ghettos

b.plantations

*c.enclaves

d.urban realms

27. The term gettooriginated with the segregation of:

*a.Jews in Italy

b.Jews in Germany

c.Gypsies in Spain

d.Gypsies in France