Study Says Northern Ireland Most Bigoted Place in Western World

A joint study by the University of Ulster and the University of Queensland has found that Northern Ireland is the most bigoted place in the west.

Press release from the University of Ulster:

"Northern Ireland has the highest proportion of bigoted people in the the western world, according to research by Professor Vani Borooah.

Not only does Northern Ireland – along with Greece – have the highest proportion of bigots, but the bigots are on average more bigoted than those in other countries.

The main target of the Northern Ireland bigots are homosexuals, followed by immigrants or foreign workers.

The study was carried out by Vani Borooah, Professor of Applied Economics at the University of Ulster and John Mangan, Professor of Economics at the University of Queensland and is to be published in the prestigious economics journal, Kyklos.

Nearly 32,000 people in 19 European countries as well as in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA were asked as part of the Human Beliefs and Values Survey – Would you like to have persons from this group as your neighbours? The five groups were people of another race, immigrants or foreign workers, Muslims, Jews and homosexuals.

In Northern Ireland 44% of the 1,000 respondents did not want persons from at least one of the five groups as their neighbours. The province was closely followed by Greece (43%). The lowest proportion of bigots was in Sweden (13%), Iceland (18%), Canada (22%) and Denmark (22%).

As regards each of the five groups the percentage of respondents in Northern Ireland who would not like them as neighbours was homosexuals (35.9%), immigrants or foreign workers (18.9%), Muslims (16%), Jews (11.6%) and people of a different race (11.1%).

For the same groups, the average of all the countries surveyed was respectively 19.6%, 10.1%, 14.5%, 9.5% and 8.5%.

Homophobia was by far the main source of bigotry in most western countries: over 80% of bigoted persons in Northern Ireland and Canada and 75% of bigots in Austria, the USA, Great Britain, Ireland and Italy would not want homosexuals as neighbours.

The exceptions to this were the Scandinavian countries in which the main target of bigotry was Muslims: 74% of bigoted Danes, 68% of bigoted Swedes and 63% of bigoted Icelanders did not want Muslims as neighbours. The corresponding proportions for homosexuals in these countries were, respectively 37%, 44% and 43%.

The study also explored who among the various countries’ populations were most likely to be bigots. It found:

· Women are less likely to be bigoted than men.
· The young (15-29 years) and middle-aged (30-49) were less likely to be bigoted than those aged over 50.
· People who were unhappy were more likely to be bigoted than those who were not unhappy.
· Some evidence that financial dissatisfaction might also be a source of bigotry.
· Right wingers, especially those who felt their government’s priority should be ‘maintaining order in the nation’, were more likely to be bigots than those whose politics were middle-of-the-road or left-wing.
· Students were less likely to be bigots than non-students.
· Those in socio-economic classes A-B (upper and upper-middle class); C1 (middle class, non-manual) and C2 (middle, manual) were less likely to be bigoted than those in D-E (unskilled manual).

The study also explored attitudes towards three of the groups – Muslims, immigrants and homosexuals. People in a number of countries, Belgium, France, Finland, Greece, Italy and Luxembourg, were more likely to be bigoted towards Muslims than Northern Ireland citizens.

However in every country, except Greece and Italy, people were significantly less likely to be bigoted towards immigrants and homosexuals than people in Northern Ireland. Along with Greece, Northern Ireland was the most homophobic country in the western world."

The PDF of the study can be found here:

Love Thy Neighbour:  How Much Bigotry Is There In Western Countries?

An interesting discussion of the study was found on Radio Ulster's William Crawley hosted Sunday Sequence programme this morning.  Click the 'Hear/There/Everywhere' section on the link below to listen, (programme should be online for the next 7 days):

Radio Ulster's Sunday Sequence

(Photo above:  Sunrise near a 'peace wall' in Belfast this Friday morning past / Image below taken from the study referenced above).

Comments

[wcbhoy]

color me shocked.

[Aorund Par]

I like the photo at the top of the post, but the content of the post is Greek to me, I don't understand it. I just DLed the PDF through the link provided, and I'll read up on it, but I just don't get it right now...

[mrx]

homophobia, xenophobia, any more. Doesnt suprise me really. As if this place doesnt have enough problems.

[Healy]

I do so love statistics...all I learned in statistics 101 is that you can make them say whatever you want. Here's a poll that shows people in NI are not as prejudiced against gay people as we think:

http://www.ipsos-mori.com/polls/2006/lasi.shtml

"One of the most striking findings is that the general perception of NI society does not match what people actually say about tolerance. The survey reveals that 59% consider that NI is either not very or not at all accepting of LGB people. But only 21% say they actually hold these views."

Who knows if these things can be quantified accurately. I do know it's fun to talk about how bad Northern Ireland is though! But then I feel guilty for NI-bashing because as a gay American, I can live here with my Irish partner with the rights and legal protections that we cannot get in America, land of the free. Oh I must refrain from ranting on here!

[Jett Loe]

Please feel free to rant as much as possible...if you can't rant at LTA where can you rant?

[Deborah]

If my name was Vani Borooah I might find my host country a little bigoted too!

[Alan in Belfast]

And if you listen carefully to Sunday Sequence, you'll hear at least one LTA listener!

At least one. Since if Jett's started checking the podcast stats yet (see the early Alicia chapters) he might have one or two listeners in NI as well as the US. So there could be more.

[Brabazon]

Northern Irish society is bigoted because there are some powerful and corrosive elements within it whose interests are best served by making sure everyone is all riled up and full of hatred. Hopefully more people are starting to see the bigger picture though...

LTA actually (I think) plays a small part in displaying that bigger picture, and how Belfast and Norn Iron fit into it. An American living high above the streets of Belfast who actively avoids talking about the 'troublings' and instead moves through the city unfettered by such dreary baggage is actually really refreshing.

LTA is a bit like the movie 'Innerspace'. Jett Loe is Dennis Quaid in a miniature submarine, and Northern Ireland is Martin Short, wondering where the voice is coming from...

[Jett Loe]

Brabazon = I think that may be the most insightful comment I've ever heard about LTA - that's exactly how I feel living in this technological bubble I've made for myself - which is why I'm leaving - download Chapter 58 this weekend for details.

[wcbhoy]

that, my friends, would be the "Big Tease"

Is Jett leaving Norn Iron? the former Red Light District? his technological bubble? What could cause such upheaval?

maybe he just got a job somewhere else.

[Penelope]

so basically what you're saying is as a LGBT American immigrant of Lithuanian parentage I should be made welcome with open arms... lovely!!!

[Jett Loe]

Hmmm...you're screwed.

[Penelope]

nothing like a challenge!!