everyday evangelicals : life in a religious subculture after the belfast agreement
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Everyday Evangelicals : Life in a Religious Subculture after the Belfast Agreement. A New Perspective on Northern Irish Evangelicalism. Everyday Evangelicals. Gladys Ganiel, Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin ( [email protected] ) - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
EVERYDAY EVANGELICALS:
LIFE IN A RELIGIOUS SUBCULTURE AFTER THE BELFAST AGREEMENT
A New Perspective on Northern Irish Evangelicalism
Everyday Evangelicals
Gladys Ganiel, Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin ([email protected])
Claire Mitchell, Queen’s University Belfast, ([email protected])
Religion & the NI Conflict
Religion as an ethnic marker
But, evangelicalism as especially important for Protestant identity
What is Evangelicalism?
Evangelicals 25 – 30 per cent of the Protestant population Emerged as a movement in 18th century
revivals What do evangelicals believe?
Must be ‘born again’ Bible is the inspired word of God Christ’s death on the cross was a historical event
necessary for salvation Christians must express their faith through social
action/evangelism
Evangelicalism & Macro Politics
Evangelicalism conceived in rigid social or political categories
Seen as a politicised religion, linked to conflict and boundary maintenance
Change to be expected in response to devolution
Micro-level Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism as a subculture based on beliefs as well as social relationships and networks.
Potential for subcultural resources to prompt change.
Findings: A Distinct Subculture
Some important intertwining of religion & politics, but five other significant ‘subcultural tools’
Centrality of ‘conversion’
ye must be born again!
Supernaturalism
Supernaturalism, attributing agency to God (often rather than to self)
Existential Questions
Predominance of existential questions (including fear of hell, meaning of life)
The Advocate
The importance of the ‘advocate’
Everyday Life
Devotional life and practice (prayer meetings, daily bible readings, networks)
Importance?
As evangelicals negotiate social & political change, they don’t just react to macro political changes or simply draw on the religio-political ideas and resources that have been emphasised in the academic literature.
They have a much greater religious repertoire for ‘making sense’ of change.
Trajectories of Change
Privatising
Moderating
Transforming
Trajectories of Change
Converting
Conserving
Exiting
Conclusions: Evangelicalism in a Plural Public Sphere