Religion and the Northern Ireland Problem PDF Download

Author: John Hickey
Publisher: Dublin [Dublin] : Gill and Macmillan ; Totowa, N.J. : Barnes & Noble
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Author: Margaret M. Scull
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198843216
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Until surprisingly recently the history of the Irish Catholic Church during the Northern Irish Troubles was written by Irish priests and bishops and was commemorative, rather than analytical. This study uses the Troubles as a case study to evaluate the role of the Catholic Church in mediating conflict. During the Troubles, these priests and bishops often worked behind the scenes, acting as go-betweens for the British government and republican paramilitaries, to bring about a peaceful solution. However, this study also looks more broadly at the actions of the American, Irish and English Catholic Churches, as well as that of the Vatican, to uncover the full impact of the Church on the conflict. This critical analysis of previously neglected state, Irish, and English Catholic Church archival material changes our perspective on the role of a religious institution in a modern conflict.

Author: John D. Brewer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199694028
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 270

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Religion is traditionally portrayed as nothing but trouble in Ireland, but the churches played a key role in Northern Ireland's peace process. This study challenges many existing assumptions about the peace process, drawing on four years of interviewing with those involved, including church leaders, politicians, and paramilitary members.

Author: Ian Budge
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1349001260
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 417

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Author: John D. Brewer
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191629669
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Religion was thought to be part of the problem in Ireland and incapable of turning itself into part of the solution. Many commentators deny the churches a role in Northern Ireland's peace process or belittle it, focusing on the few well-known events of church involvement and the small number of high profile religious peacebuilders. This new study seeks to correct various misapprehensions about the role of the churches by pointing to their major achievements in both the social and political dimensions of the peace process, by small-scale, lesser-known religious peacebuilders as well as major players. The churches are not treated lightly or sentimentally and major weaknesses in their contribution are highlighted. The study challenges the view that ecumenism was the main religious driver of the peace process, focusing instead on the role of evangelicals, it warns against romanticising civil society, pointing to its regressive aspects and counter-productive activities, and queries the relevance of the idea of 'spiritual capital' to understanding the role of the churches in post-conflict reconstruction, which the churches largely ignore. This book is written by three 'insiders' to church peacebuilding in Northern Ireland, who bring their insight and expertise as sociologists to bear in their analysis of four-years in-depth interviewing with a wide cross section of people involved in the peace process, including church leaders and rank-and-file, members of political parties, prime ministers, paramilitary organisations, community development and civil society groups, as well as government politicians and advisors. Many of these are speaking for the first time about the role of religious peacebuilding in Northern Ireland, and doing so with remarkable candour. The volume allows the Northern Irish case study to speak to other conflicts where religion is thought to be problematic by developing a conceptual framework to understand religious peacebuilding.

Author: Nia Verdenhalven
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3638779734
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 37

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Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Western Europe, grade: 1.0 / A / 1st mark, King s College London, course: Themes & Issues in British Politics since 1945, 14 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: To many the term 'Northern Ireland' is a synonym for violence and hatred, reminding us of the bloody 'Troubles' that dominated the country for over 30 years and of the 3700 people who lost their life during this time. The fact that the communities are divided by their confession suggests that the 'Troubles' were animated by religious frictions, and indeed, religion is generally put forward as a reason. However, on closer inspection, it appears that this stereo-typical view pushes other explanations into the background although these are essential to grasp the origins of the conflict as a whole. This essay will examine the historical, political, economic and religious aspects as well as the relation of the two communities and will attempt to demonstrate that a range of social and economic seemingly insuperable divisions between the two groups, combined with the deprivation of the country might have been a perfect 'breeding ground' for prejudice and fear of the other group, factors which were then expressed by severe violence during the 'Troubles'.

Author: Claire Mitchell
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351904841
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Has conflict in Northern Ireland kept political dimensions of religion alive, and has religion played a role in fuelling conflict? Conflict in Northern Ireland is not and never will be a holy war. Yet religion is more socially and politically significant than many commentators presume. In fact, religion has remained a central feature of social identity and politics throughout conflict as well as recent change. There has been an acceleration of interest in the relationship between religion, identity and politics in modern societies. Building on this debate, Claire Mitchell presents a challenging analysis of religion in contemporary Northern Ireland, arguing that religion is not merely a marker of ethnicity and that it continues to provide many of the meanings of identity, community and politics. In light of the multifaceted nature of the conflict in Northern Ireland, Mitchell explains that, for Catholics, religion is primarily important in its social and institutional forms, whereas for many Protestants its theological and ideological dimensions are more pressing. Even those who no longer go to church tend to reproduce religious stereotypes of 'them and us'. Drawing on a range of unique interview material, this book traces how individuals and groups in Northern Ireland have absorbed religious types of cultural knowledge, belonging and morality, and how they reproduce these as they go about their daily lives. Despite recent religious and political changes, the author concludes that perceptions of religious difference help keep communities in Northern Ireland socially separate and often in conflict with one another.

Author: J. Brewer
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0333995023
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
Anti-Catholicism forms part of the dynamics to Northern Ireland's conflict and is critical to the self-defining identity of certain Protestants. However, anti-Catholicism is as much a sociology process as a theological dispute. It was given a Scriptural underpinning in the history of Protestant-Catholic relations in Ireland, and wider British-Irish relations, in order to reinforce social divisions between the religious communities and to offer a deterministic belief system to justify them. The book examines the socio-economic and political processes that have led to theology being used in social closure and stratification between the seventeenth century and the present day.

Author: Donald P. Doumitt
Publisher: New York : P. Lang
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
Political, economic, social, psychological, literary and religious factors have influenced Protestants and Catholics toward violence in Northern Ireland since 1969. Such violence emanates from an unjust social order where little has changed since 1921. Issues pertaining to political powersharing with the Catholic minority and dis- crimination in the allocation of jobs and housing are presented. Ulster's troubles are viewed as conditions in which long-standing Protestant-Catholic interests are exploited by demagogues to defend or attack the status quo. Sectarian propagandists capitalize on Protestant-Catholic fears and maintain a divided population. Efforts to reach out across the religious divide while achieving a revived economy are possible remedies toward a peaceful solution.

Author: Marc Mulholland
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198825005
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 153

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Book Description
From the Plantation of Ulster in the seventeenth century to the entry into peace talks in the late twentieth century the Northern Irish people have been engaged in conflict - Catholic against Protestant, Republican against Unionist. The traumas of violence in the Northern Ireland Troubles have cast a long shadow. For many years, this appeared to be an intractable conflict with no pathway out. Mass mobilisations of people and dramatic political crises punctuated a seemingly endless succession of bloodshed. When in the 1990s and early 21st century, peace was painfully built, it brought together unlikely rivals, making Northern Ireland a model for conflict resolution internationally. But disagreement about the future of the province remains, and for the first time in decades one can now seriously speak of a democratic end to the Union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain as a foreseeable possibility. The Northern Ireland problem remains a fundamental issue as the United Kingdom recasts its relationship with Europe and the world. In this completely revised edition of his Very Short Introduction Marc Mulholland explores the pivotal moments in Northern Irish history - the rise of republicanism in the 1800s, Home Rule and the civil rights movement, the growth of Sinn Fein and the provisional IRA, and the DUP, before bringing the story up to date, drawing on newly available memoirs by paramilitary militants to offer previously unexplored perspectives, as well as recent work on Nothern Irish gender relations. Mulholland also includes a new chapter on the state of affairs in 21st Century Northern Ireland, considering the question of Irish unity in the light of both Brexit and the approaching anniversary of the 1921 partition, and drawing new lessons for the future. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.