Evangelicalism and National Identity in Ulster, 1921-1998

Bibliographic Data

ID8068075
AuthorsPatrick Mitchel (corresponding author)
Year2003
Pages362
Publication date2003-10-30
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueEvangelicalism and national identity in Ulster, 1921-1998 (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/0199256152.001.0001
OpenAlexW619024343
Open LibraryOL22557549M
ISBN9780199256150
LanguageEN
Citations received28

Examines the interaction between nationalism and evangelical Protestantism, the most influential and historically significant sector of Christianity in Ulster. Different evangelical responses to the declining fate of Ulster unionism are explored and compared during the period from Partition in 1921 and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. While taking into account how religious belief can ‘fall into the abyss of idolatry’ by spiritually legitimating a nationalist agenda, the author eschews a reductionist or purely historical approach to religion. Rather, after exploring the nature and content of nationalism and national identity, he uses a combination of historical and theological material to offer a critical assessment of how four evangelical identities have embodied the religious beliefs and values to which they subscribe given a background of intense political conflict. He concludes that while they share historic roots and common beliefs, evangelicals in Ulster have split radically on their attitudes to nationalism and its role in defending biblical truth. He argues that both Paisleyism and Orangeism, in distinct ways, are movements propelled by a nationalist objective–the defence of the political power of Ulster unionism. In contrast, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and a newer organization, Evangelical Contribution on Northern Ireland (ECONI), have asserted that sacralizing any form of nationalism is an act of idolatry. The book closes by examining some political implications of evangelical fragmentation for the Peace Process and what it means for evangelical Christians in Northern Ireland to live up to their self-professed calling to be ‘Bible people and Gospel people’ in a context of competing national identities

Aesthetics · Appeal · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Gospel · Identity (music · Irish · Irish nationalism · National identity · Nationalism · Paradise · Political science · Politics · Sociology · History · Irish and British Studies · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies · 20th century · Christianity and politics · Evangelicalism · northern ireland · Religion · Religious aspects · Religious aspects of Nationalism

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