religious conflict?

George raised the question of how much religion plays a part in the conflict. So far I have the impression that religion plays very little role in the conflict. I asked one of the volunteers from Belfast if religion has anything to do with the conflict and she laughed and said no. Basically one can be a Catholic or a Protestant without having a faith or going to church, it just depends which side of the political conflict one is born into. People here refer to the Catholic/Protestant conflict but it is best not to see this as meaning people here are fighting primarily over religious issues.