Northern Ireland: A Land of Warring Christians

Northern Ireland has too many Catholics and twice as many Protestants, but very few Christians. — Anonymous

Protestant and Roman Catholic Christmas shoppers scurried warily past one another in drab, sooty Belfast, grimly preparing to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace. Without much conviction, carolers sang Joy to the World outside Belfast's city hall, where a Union Jack hung limply from its pole and a signboard listed the latest number of military and civilian deaths—1,140 since 1969. Even the seasonal slogan jointly adopted...

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