Sunrise over the ruins of medieval Clonmacnoise Rev. Robert Marshall
The opening paragraph of the editors’ introduction notes that “Ireland’s centuries old reputation as a land of saints and scholars (and sinners) is well established”.
They continue that two decades into the 21st Century the island’s association with religious devotion is increasingly considered something of an historic artefact – a kind expression for something reputedly consigned to the past.
The editors assert their handbook – which runs to some 622 pages – complicates this assumption about religion north and south as the volume explores the significance of religion in society, politics and everyday life of modern Ireland.
Handbook
Before going further, we should be clear on what this book is. It is a handbook rather than a history: an introduction and guide to how religion in a series of issues has shaped our island over 220 years.
This exploration is the work of 36 contributors in 32 essays exploring the period from the Act of Union to date. These thought-provoking essays, each easily read as stand-alone pieces, are grouped in three parts. The milestones which separate the parts are Partition and 1968 – that year of protest across western society. In Ireland it marked the outbreak of the Troubles.
The contributors’ interests and viewpoints are naturally reflected in their contributions. They come from different backgrounds. Predominantly they are associated with Irish universities, but also from Great Britain and New England. As one would expect historians are involved, but so too are theologians, lawyers, educationalists, sociologists, and social anthropologists.
The first part consists of a broad survey of ‘Religion, Politics and Society in the aftermath of the Union’.
The shortest section, it covers the rise of Catholic Nationalism, Emancipation and the accompanying long process of disestablishing the Church of Ireland amidst the Victorian religious revivals. The differing religious revivals led to so much of our built environment.
Two essays demonstrate how revival and development were part of wider movements outside Ireland and that the century must be understood in its own terms rather than in a historian’s mirror.
The second part covers the “aftermath of partition”. The main Christian Churches were not fractured by partition and have retained their unity since 1922, albeit with tensions in the case of the Protestant denominations, now reflecting different political aspirations north and south. Some of the essays are parallels as contributors explore similar issues in the two jurisdictions.
Paisley’s political values informed by his fundamentalism, transcended traditional Orange Order ideology”
Strangely at a time when the Catholic Church is engaged in a worldwide synodical process, the experience of the Protestant Churches is not examined. This is unfortunate, as the symbolism of the General Convention of the Church of Ireland in 1870 was one of the spurs to the establishment of Isaac Butt’s Home Rule Movement. Whether they meet as Synods, Assemblies, or Conventions, these modern ecclesiastical bodies confront religious issues at an All Ireland level.
The third part deals with “contemporary times”. This is the longest section covering the period dominated by Ian Paisley’s popularity as a politician, greatly exceeding that of his Free Presbyterian Church. One essay argues that Paisley’s political values informed by his fundamentalism, transcended traditional Orange Order ideology.
This made sense to many within a formerly secure Unionist community. While his Free Presbyterian Church remains as a small denomination, in secular terms Paisley “routed the Ulster Unionist Party after the Good Friday Agreement in an electoral response which owed nothing to religion… and everything to a rational response to British Government Policy”.
Another essayist argues that the idea of the Orange Order always getting its own way obscured how “the order mainly worked to conceal fissures [between] Protestants of different kinds.”
There is much in this handbook which will make uncomfortable reading. That discomfort will not be confined to any one tradition or jurisdiction. A Northern Ireland civil servant who was a Catholic provides an example. “[Catholics] feared their Protestant neighbours with the anger of a people who had been subdued by force and left without any means of retaliating against their persecutors.”
Responsibility
Similarly, drawing on the reports of the Ryan (Ireland) and Hart (Northern Ireland) enquiries, this essay perceptively considers the abuse crises. The author comments that the mechanisms for dealing with the past have proved largely unsatisfactory to victims and survivors.
He raises deep questions concerning the responsibility of the Churches and the two states, commenting that the former may have the theological resources to more meaningfully address their past.
This book is enhanced by discussion of Orthodox Christian communities, the various Islamic traditions and the traditions of Eastern spirituality. It remains to be seen, however, if they will have the influence of the Jewish Community in Ireland during the long 20th Century?
Those born outside, or who have moved to Ireland often have different religious focuses or perceptions”
A warning is sounded, those born outside, or who have moved to Ireland often have different religious focuses or perceptions (not necessarily all Christian), or little interest in religion.
A new paradigm is developing as a political doctrine in the face of secularism, immigration and the emergence of new religious affiliations, not least ‘no religion’. In this reconfigured public square religion continues to play a complex part.
In conclusion, it is impossible to do justice in a short review to the refreshing, thought provoking breadth of analysis in this imaginative and worthwhile handbook. It is a reference source for anyone seeking a broad perspective concealed behind the simplified assumptions of received wisdom.
The overall picture is of a patchwork quilt of many religious and political colours now covering the entire island. The patches, to which many could be added, reflect controversies, some solved, not necessarily in both jurisdictions, to form part of the status quo.
The handbook is an essential reference source which will assist everyone seeking to understand the complexities of religion across modern Ireland, particularly those studying religion in society whether in pursuit of a vocation or as a phenomenon.
This book is enhanced by discussion of Orthodox Christian communities, the various Islamic traditions and the traditions of Eastern spirituality”
The Rev. Robert Marshall is Registrar of the Church of Ireland United Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough and writes in a personal capacity.