RELIGION IN BELFAST
RELIGION IN BELFAST
THE ARC CHURCH IN 2019 I VISITED CLIFTONPARK AVENUE IN BELFAST TO PHOTOGRAPH THIS CHURCH
The number and variety of churches in Belfast never fails to surprise me.
In 1998, the Ulster History Circle unveiled a commemorative blue plaque to Chaim Herzog [who later went on to become President of Israel between 1983 and 1993] at his birthplace on Cliftonpark Avenue. The plaque was removed by the Circle from the building in August 2014, at the request of the Cliftonville Community Regeneration Forum, who are based there. The plaque had become the subject of unwelcome attention, and in the interests of health and safety it was taken away for safe keeping, until such time as it can be reinstated, with the consent of the owners and occupiers of the premises.
The Ulster History Circle is a heritage organisation that administers Blue Plaques for the area that encompasses the province of Ulster on the island of Ireland. It is a voluntary, not-for-profit organisation, placing commemorative plaques in public places in honour of people and locations that have contributed to all genres of history within the boundary of the Irish province of Ulster, or contemporary country of Northern Ireland. Founded in the early 1980s, the group receives no government funding, unlike many similar organisations in the United Kingdom.
Major-General Chaim Herzog (17 September 1918 – 17 April 1997)was an Irish-born Israeli politician, general, lawyer and author who served as the sixth President of Israel between 1983 and 1993. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Dublin, the son of Ireland's Chief Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, he immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1935 and served in the Haganah Jewish paramilitary group during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt. He returned to Palestine after the war and, following the end of the British Mandate and Israel's Declaration of Independence in 1948, fought in the Battles of Latrun during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. He retired from the Israel Defence Forces in 1962 with the rank of major-general.
Note: The Belfast Jewish Community established a Jewish Hostel in Cliftonpark Avenue, Belfast, Co. Antrim in the late 1930s as refugees began to escape persecution in Europe.
In 1998, the Ulster History Circle unveiled a commemorative blue plaque to Chaim Herzog [who later went on to become President of Israel between 1983 and 1993] at his birthplace on Cliftonpark Avenue. The plaque was removed by the Circle from the building in August 2014, at the request of the Cliftonville Community Regeneration Forum, who are based there. The plaque had become the subject of unwelcome attention, and in the interests of health and safety it was taken away for safe keeping, until such time as it can be reinstated, with the consent of the owners and occupiers of the premises.
The Ulster History Circle is a heritage organisation that administers Blue Plaques for the area that encompasses the province of Ulster on the island of Ireland. It is a voluntary, not-for-profit organisation, placing commemorative plaques in public places in honour of people and locations that have contributed to all genres of history within the boundary of the Irish province of Ulster, or contemporary country of Northern Ireland. Founded in the early 1980s, the group receives no government funding, unlike many similar organisations in the United Kingdom.
Major-General Chaim Herzog (17 September 1918 – 17 April 1997)was an Irish-born Israeli politician, general, lawyer and author who served as the sixth President of Israel between 1983 and 1993. Born in Belfast and raised primarily in Dublin, the son of Ireland's Chief Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, he immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1935 and served in the Haganah Jewish paramilitary group during the 1936–1939 Arab revolt. He returned to Palestine after the war and, following the end of the British Mandate and Israel's Declaration of Independence in 1948, fought in the Battles of Latrun during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. He retired from the Israel Defence Forces in 1962 with the rank of major-general.
Note: The Belfast Jewish Community established a Jewish Hostel in Cliftonpark Avenue, Belfast, Co. Antrim in the late 1930s as refugees began to escape persecution in Europe.
ST PATRICK'S BALLYMACARRETT CHURCH OF IRELAND PARISH CHURCH NEWTOWNARDS ROAD MARCH 2019
This image demonstrates just how much the Harland and Wolff cranes Samson & Goliath dominate the Belfast skyline.
According to contacts in Belfast the Newtownards Road is generally safe and well lit at night. One potential flashpoint is the interface with the nationalist Short Strand neighbourhood. Though fairly well kept and safe during the day, it is best to avoid this area at night.
According to a local that I had a chat with this large Church of Ireland Parish Church was rebuilt after the War to the original plans, having been destroyed in the Blitz.
Here is an extract from the churche's mission statement: Due to the extensive redevelopment and the ’Troubles', the demography of the area has changed enormously in recent years and is still grappling with regeneration. This may explain why I found the area to be more than a little bit confusing.
Ballymacarrett or Ballymacarret (from Irish Baile Mhic Gearóid 'MacGearóid's settlement') is the name of both a townland and electoral ward in Belfast. The townland is in County Down and the electoral ward is part of the Titanic district electoral area of Belfast City Council.
The ward was created in 1973 with most of the population coming from the former Pottinger ward. The ward was slightly enlarged in 1985, taking in part of the Island ward.
The ward consists of two distinct districts : Ballymacarrett itself, which is almost entirely Protestant, and the Short Strand which is almost entirely Catholic, with the two separated by a peaceline. Consequently, in the 2001 census, the Roman Catholic community background figure was 51%.
Set in the shadows of the Harland and Wolff cranes Samson & Goliath, large numbers of local men worked in the shipyard during its heyday. The area is also well known for 'Ulster's Freedom Corner', a series of loyalist murals.
Ballymacarrett and the nearby Newtownards Road played a key part in what became known as the 2011 Northern Ireland riots. At first, the riots were only located in the area and were known as the 2011 East Belfast riots but by July, the riots had spread to other parts of the region.
According to contacts in Belfast the Newtownards Road is generally safe and well lit at night. One potential flashpoint is the interface with the nationalist Short Strand neighbourhood. Though fairly well kept and safe during the day, it is best to avoid this area at night.
According to a local that I had a chat with this large Church of Ireland Parish Church was rebuilt after the War to the original plans, having been destroyed in the Blitz.
Here is an extract from the churche's mission statement: Due to the extensive redevelopment and the ’Troubles', the demography of the area has changed enormously in recent years and is still grappling with regeneration. This may explain why I found the area to be more than a little bit confusing.
Ballymacarrett or Ballymacarret (from Irish Baile Mhic Gearóid 'MacGearóid's settlement') is the name of both a townland and electoral ward in Belfast. The townland is in County Down and the electoral ward is part of the Titanic district electoral area of Belfast City Council.
The ward was created in 1973 with most of the population coming from the former Pottinger ward. The ward was slightly enlarged in 1985, taking in part of the Island ward.
The ward consists of two distinct districts : Ballymacarrett itself, which is almost entirely Protestant, and the Short Strand which is almost entirely Catholic, with the two separated by a peaceline. Consequently, in the 2001 census, the Roman Catholic community background figure was 51%.
Set in the shadows of the Harland and Wolff cranes Samson & Goliath, large numbers of local men worked in the shipyard during its heyday. The area is also well known for 'Ulster's Freedom Corner', a series of loyalist murals.
Ballymacarrett and the nearby Newtownards Road played a key part in what became known as the 2011 Northern Ireland riots. At first, the riots were only located in the area and were known as the 2011 East Belfast riots but by July, the riots had spread to other parts of the region.
One thing that stands out about Belfast is the number of churches and in some areas I noticed at least two or thee on every street that I visited. As far back as 1861 there were 55 Churches in Belfast 20 Presbyterian, 20 other non-conformist 10 Church Of Ireland and 5 Catholic. Today it is not clear as to how many churches exist in Belfast but there is a large number [some claim that there are more than 1,000 which is unlikely to be true as that would be equivalent to one for every 700 people] of small churches with very small congregations. I suspect that many of the churches are not currently viable and are likely to cease within the next ten years.
If you are wondering what I mean by a small congregation I extracted the following from the Moravian Church web page "our communicant membership stands at 60 with a few adherents and several people who attend occasionally".
Christianity is the main religion in Northern Ireland. The 2011 UK census showed 40.8% Roman Catholic, 19.1% Presbyterian Church, with the Church of Ireland having 13.7% and the Methodist Church 3.0%. Members of other Christian churches comprised 5.8%, 16.9% stated they have no religion or did not state a religion, and members of non-Christian religions were 0.8%.
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest single church, though there is a greater number of Protestants overall. The Catholic Church in Ireland is organised into four provinces though these are not coterminous with the modern political division of Ireland. The seat of the Archbishop of Armagh, the Primacy of Ireland, is St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, closely linked to the Church of Scotland in terms of theology and history, is the second-largest church and largest Protestant denomination. It is followed by the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the state church of Ireland until it was disestablished by the Irish Church Act 1869. In 2002, the much smaller Methodist Church in Ireland signed a covenant for greater co-operation and potential ultimate unity with the Church of Ireland. The Church of Ireland is part of the Anglican Communion.
Smaller, but growing, Protestant denominations such as the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland amongst Presbyterians and the Open Brethren are located in many places. The Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland and the Assemblies of God Ireland are also organised on an all-Ireland basis, though in the case of the Assemblies of God this was the result of a recent reorganisation.
In their respective 2011 censuses Northern Ireland had a lower proportion of people stating that they were Christian (82.3%) than the Republic of Ireland (90.4%) and had a higher proportion of people stating that they had no religion or not indicating a religious belief (16.9%) than the Republic of Ireland (7.6%). While in the 2011 census 84.2% of people in the Republic of Ireland identified themselves as Catholic in the 2011 census in Northern Ireland only 40.8% identified themselves as Catholic.
If you are wondering what I mean by a small congregation I extracted the following from the Moravian Church web page "our communicant membership stands at 60 with a few adherents and several people who attend occasionally".
Christianity is the main religion in Northern Ireland. The 2011 UK census showed 40.8% Roman Catholic, 19.1% Presbyterian Church, with the Church of Ireland having 13.7% and the Methodist Church 3.0%. Members of other Christian churches comprised 5.8%, 16.9% stated they have no religion or did not state a religion, and members of non-Christian religions were 0.8%.
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest single church, though there is a greater number of Protestants overall. The Catholic Church in Ireland is organised into four provinces though these are not coterminous with the modern political division of Ireland. The seat of the Archbishop of Armagh, the Primacy of Ireland, is St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh.
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, closely linked to the Church of Scotland in terms of theology and history, is the second-largest church and largest Protestant denomination. It is followed by the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the state church of Ireland until it was disestablished by the Irish Church Act 1869. In 2002, the much smaller Methodist Church in Ireland signed a covenant for greater co-operation and potential ultimate unity with the Church of Ireland. The Church of Ireland is part of the Anglican Communion.
Smaller, but growing, Protestant denominations such as the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland amongst Presbyterians and the Open Brethren are located in many places. The Association of Baptist Churches in Ireland and the Assemblies of God Ireland are also organised on an all-Ireland basis, though in the case of the Assemblies of God this was the result of a recent reorganisation.
In their respective 2011 censuses Northern Ireland had a lower proportion of people stating that they were Christian (82.3%) than the Republic of Ireland (90.4%) and had a higher proportion of people stating that they had no religion or not indicating a religious belief (16.9%) than the Republic of Ireland (7.6%). While in the 2011 census 84.2% of people in the Republic of Ireland identified themselves as Catholic in the 2011 census in Northern Ireland only 40.8% identified themselves as Catholic.
