A growing tolerance in the Republic has led younger Protestants to identify more with the State and regard themselves as Irish, the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Dr James Mehaffey, has said.
He was responding to a survey among Protestants in Co Donegal which found that the vast majority identified themselves as Irish or Irish Protestant, and only 9 per cent claimed a dual British-Irish nationality.
Dr Mehaffey said he had noticed this particularly among younger people in the Donegal part of his diocese. "I find that young people in their teens and 20s are very firmly Irish and proud of it, and rightly so," he said.
Over the years, he said, there had been "a wonderful identifying with the State", and partition was so long ago now it had been forgotten. Dr Mehaffey said his impression was that life in the Republic was good now, and there was a new vitality. "I think there is a growing tolerance right throughout the Republic and it is not just in Dublin or the large urban centres," he said.
Contentious issues such as inter-church marriage were less a source of fear for Protestants now. "There used to be a fear that inter-church marriages were taking away a lot of their potential people, because children were inevitably raised as Roman Catholic," Dr Mehaffey said.
Attitudes among parents had changed, and while they listened to what the churches said, they decided themselves what was best for their children, and he supported that.
He did not believe that Protestants' greater allegiance to the southern State was because society was becoming more secular, as church-going was at a very high level among both Protestants and Catholics in Co Donegal. It was because of a greater tolerance. "Sadly in Northern Ireland, we have got caught in a highly charged political situation and it is more difficult," Dr Mehaffey said.
The survey, Protestants in Community Life, was carried out by Derry and Raphoe Action, a cross-Border Protestant group set up in 1995 to encourage Protestants to play a greater role in the community. It was felt Protestants were not accessing funding to the extent that Catholics were. In recent years the group has received funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin.
Based on the 1991 census there are more than 14,000 Protestants in Co Donegal, or 10.8 per cent of the population. The survey found that the top concern among Protestants was a fear of further population decline, but figures gathered directly from the churches indicated that this fear might be unfounded. It was found in most parishes that the decline had levelled off, and some had seen an increase in numbers in the past 10 years.
On questions relating to employment and discrimination, 26 per cent said they believed there were certain jobs they would not apply for because it would be "a waste of time".
However, the remaining 74 per cent did not agree with this. It was found that one in 10 either worked in or had previously worked in the State sector, which is proportionate to their numbers in the population. Some 21 per cent said they did not believe equal opportunities existed.
It was found that 64 per cent always voted in elections and a further 27 per cent usually voted. Only 9 per cent said they would vote for Fianna Fail, and Fine Gael received the greatest support at 58 per cent. A large majority, 78 per cent, said they believed Protestants were not fairly represented.
Most people believed inter community relations were good and 66 per cent had non-Protestants in their family circle.
The vast majority socialised in mixed company, 53 per cent regularly and 43 per cent occasionally. It was found that inter-church marriage was becoming less of a taboo.
A large majority said their church played a significant part in their lives. Only 9 per cent said the church had very little or no role in their lives.
The level of community involvement was higher than expected. Some 43 per cent were in church-based groups, and 41 per cent were also involved in non-church community activity.
Derry and Raphoe Action hopes to distribute the report to every Protestant home in Co Donegal. The group's development officer for Donegal, Mr Ian McCracken, said he hoped it would stimulate discussion.
He said there tended to be leaders in communities who took part both in church and cross-community work, and Protestants themselves had to be made aware of the need "to get up and get involved and stop hiding away".