The relationship between faith and wellbeing in Northern Ireland

What is individual wellbeing? It is a difficult question. As a Christian, my instinct is to answer it with verses about the hope, peace and community that faith offers.

The immediate passage that springs to mind comes from Matthew 11, where Jesus frames wellbeing in terms of following a compassionate teacher who offers rest and purpose. I would also point to the deep value of church communities and friendships that I have encountered across the UK and Spain, offering a place of belonging that spans cultures and languages.

Matthew 11:29 (NIV): “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Interestingly, both the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) take a more empirical, but ultimately similar, approach to defining individual wellbeing. For the former, wellbeing is a concept measured using four key categories: loneliness, self-efficacy, personal wellbeing and the extent of control a person feels over their own life.

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

For the latter, individual wellbeing is made up of some ten categories, though these include loneliness, personal wellbeing and other specific questions around health and relationships. Although both technical in nature, these measures echo the familiar themes of community, purpose and hope which are important to any person’s wellbeing, whether they are religious or not.

Gathered annually since 2020, the January 2026 Individual Wellbeing in Northern Ireland Report offers fascinating insights into the personal impact of faith in the region, particularly when compared with ONS UK-wide estimates.

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So, here are four key takeaways from the reported 2024/2025 NISRA data:

People who identified as religious scored more favourably in most wellbeing variables and sub-variables.

Whether responding as ‘Catholic’, ‘Protestant’ or ‘Other religion’, religious respondents generally scored more favourably in most variables and sub-variables. This included lower loneliness levels and a higher score in each of the four personal wellbeing sub-variables:

Life satisfaction

A sense that life’s activities are worthwhile

Happiness

Anxiety

By contrast, non-religious respondents generally scored higher in self-efficacy and their sense of control, reflecting a more individualistic understanding of how their actions fundamentally shape their life outcomes. This is perhaps unsurprising given their absence of belief in the influence of a ‘higher power’.

Still, it raises an interesting point: does the absence of a supportive faith community play a role in explaining higher levels of loneliness and lower levels of personal wellbeing amongst non-religious respondents?

"... all religious groups reported higher percentages saying that they never felt lonely"

Significant differences in loneliness and personal wellbeing scores between religious and non-religious respondents.

The idea that religion provides community and support appears strongly reflected in the NISRA loneliness data. With the exception of ‘other religion’ in a single category, non-religious respondents were consistently more likely to describe themselves as often, sometimes or occasionally lonely. Meanwhile, all religious groups reported higher percentages saying that they never felt lonely (religious average of 33.5% versus 24.9%).

However, the starkest contrasts between religious and non-religious respondents emerged from within the first three of the four personal wellbeing sub-variables. As a score out of ten, the mean rating for non-religious individuals of 7.3 fell far behind the 7.9 figure of religious ones.

This difference was especially pronounced in life satisfaction, suggesting that religious belief may shape deeper feelings about one’s overall quality of life. In the other personal wellbeing sub-variable, non-religious respondents also reported higher levels of anxiety.

‘Other religion’ scored equally favourably.

Although those identifying as ‘other religion’ make up just 2% of the population according to the most recent census, individuals from these faiths reported a level of individual wellbeing broadly comparable to their protestant and catholic counterparts. In fact, this group reported the highest levels of happiness and lowest of anxiety in Northern Ireland — a striking ten percentage points lower than non-religious respondents.

It is not clear from data alone why ‘other religion’ enjoys as high a level of individual wellbeing as they do. However, these figures may reflect the tight-knit nature of many smaller faith communities or a growing recognition of their presence and contribution within Northern Ireland’s cultural landscape. In either case, it serves as a helpful reminder that the positive relationship between faith and wellbeing is not confined to Christianity alone.

"It is clear from the stats that faith plays a special role in everyday life and individual wellbeing in Northern Ireland."

Northern Ireland scores higher in personal wellbeing than the other UK nations (again).

Finally, and perhaps unsurprisingly to those living here, Northern Ireland once again outperformed England, Scotland and Wales in personal wellbeing. It has done so consistently in every comparative quarterly NISRA/ONS wellbeing estimate since October 2020. These differences were particularly pronounced within the anxiety sub-variable, where NI regularly scores lower than the other nations. But why might this be the case?

In 2022, the Local Government Information Unit identified an appreciation for the peace process and the frequent intersection of religious, community and family life as the two key drivers of high individual wellbeing in the region. In particular, faith-based networks of community and friendships were highlighted as a distinctive source of social capital and personal support when compared with the rest of the UK. This interpretation aligns with data from the 2021 census, which reported that 80% of the population in Northern Ireland identified as compared to 46% in England and Wales.

The bottom line:

It is clear from the stats that faith plays a special role in everyday life and individual wellbeing in Northern Ireland. Religious belief continues to offer hope, purpose and connection to hundreds of thousands of individuals in Northern Ireland in a unique manner. It is therefore unsurprising that the Good News People report demonstrated strong public and evangelical support for the role of the Christian faith in public life.

We look forward to exploring this further, while also highlighting the contribution of other faith communities to our region, in our upcoming Faith in Northern Ireland research.