Attitudes among Protestants and Catholics towards living and working together have hardened over the past five years, according to a University of Ulster survey.
Using data from the Life and Times Survey, conducted annually by the University of Ulster (UU) in conjunction with Queen's University, researchers found that the two communities' perceptions of each other had deteriorated dramatically since 1996, the year after the first paramilitary ceasefires.
After questioning 1,800 adults, the UU researchers found that while in 1996, 44 per cent of Protestants and 47 per cent of Catholics thought that inter-community relations were better than five years previously, last year those figures had fallen to 25 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.
During the past two years in particular there has been a steady increase in the desire for single identity communities, workplaces and schools. While in 1999 26 per cent of Protestants and 18 per cent of Catholics expressed a preference for single-religion neighbourhoods, in 2001 the figures were 32 per cent and 22 per cent.
The desire for single religion workplaces rose from 12 to 21 per cent among Protestants since 1999 and from 6 to 14 per cent among Catholics. As to schooling, 37 per cent of Protestants (up from 29 per cent) and 29 per cent of Catholics (up from 21 per cent) now prefer denominational establishments.
Almost two-thirds of all respondents disagreed that there was no longer a need for equality laws. Both communities, however, agreed that Catholics had most benefited from such laws, with 94 per cent of all respondents believing that Catholics were now treated better or at least the same as five years ago. Almost 40 per cent of Protestants thought they were now treated worse than in 1996.
The researchers, Dr Joanne Hughes and Dr Caitlín Donnelly, said it was important to examine the factors that had contributed to the negative trends.
The DUP Social Development Minister, Mr Nigel Dodds, yesterday stressed the importance of restoring hope to embattled communities in interface areas. After a visit to east Belfast, he said the vast majority in the affected areas wanted to live in peace.