question_answer

  How had religious differences created social division in Northern Ireland and failed to do the same in Netherlands? Explain.   

Answer:

                  In Northern Ireland population is divided into two major sects of Christianity. 53 per cent are Protestants and 44 per cent are Roman Catholics. Here, Catholics are poor and discriminated. This is a social division because class and religion overlap with each other here. But in the Netherlands class and religion tend to cut-cross each other. Here, Catholics and Protestants are about equally like to be poor or rich. So, they co-exist and do not create social division because of cross-cutting social differences. This type of differences are easier to accommodate while overlapping social differences create possibilities of deep social divisions and tensions.