Evangelicalism and National Identity in Ulster, 1921-1998
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Hardback
£195.00
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Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780199256150
Number of Pages: 374
Published: 30/10/2003
Width: 14.4 cm
Height: 22.4 cm
Evangelical Protestantism in Ulster is the most influential and historically significant sector of Christianity in Northern Ireland. This innovative and controversial book explores different Evangelical responses to the declining fate of Ulster Unionism during the period from Partition in 1921 to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Focusing on how religious belief has interacted with national identity in a context of political conflict, it eschews a reductionist or purely historical approach to interpreting religion. Rather, using a combination of historical and theological material, Patrick Mitchel offers a critical assessment of how Evangelical identities in Ulster have embodied the religious beliefs and values to which they subscribe. Evangelical Protestantism is often associated only with the Orange Order and with the controversial figure of Ian Paisley. This book's fresh analysis of a spectrum of Evangelical opinion, including the frequently overlooked moderate Evangelicals, provides a more rounded picture that shows why and how Evangelical Christians in Ulster are deeply divided over politics, national identity, and the current Peace Process. Patrick Mitchel concludes with a critical assessment of the political and theological challenges facing different Evangelical identities in the context of identity conflict in Northern Ireland. This is an invaluable guide to understanding both the past and contemporary mindset of Ulster Protestantism.
Introduction ; PART 1. NATIONALISM, IDENTITY, AND UNIONISM ; 1. Of Nations and Nationalism ; 2. National Identity and the Appeal of Nationalism ; 3. Paradise Lost?: The Rise and Fall of Ulster Unionism ; PART 2. SHADES OF ORANGE: DIFFERING VERSIONS OF ULSTER EVANGELICALISM ; 4. Gospel Truth: Describing Evangelicalism ; 5. Marching Backwards: The World of Orangeism ; 6. Ourselves Alone: Paisleyism and the Politics of Purity ; 7. Generating Distance?: The Changing Identity of Irish Presbyterianism ; 8. A Balancing Act: The Evangelicals of ECONI ; Conclusion
this book is an impressive, sincere attempt to define, not just Evangelicalism, but the proper Christian route which Presbyterianism should follow in Ulster... * John Kent, The Journal of Theological Studies *