Ulster Says Maybe: The Restructuring of Evangelical Politics in Northern Ireland

The Two Types of Ulster Unionism: Testing an Ethnic Explanation for the Unionist/Loyalist Divide

“…Scholars of unionism/loyalism and Protestants agree that there are divisions within this group; they also agree that unionism is a continually changing ideology adapting to different political situations usually imposed on the population (Mitchell, 2003;Ganiel, 2006;McAuley, 2010). It is possible that in the constant need to adapt and compete on a variety of different dimensions -constitutional, economic, religious and cultural -that the differences within unionism have lost links to any original migratory heritage.…”

Free Presbyterianism and Political Change in Northern Ireland

“…What is clear from the comments in this article is that for Free Presbyterians at least, the response has been to try and conceptualise their role in religious rather than politico-religious terms and to reaffirm boundary markers (see Brewer, 2004 andMitchell, 2006: 59-68 for a detailed examination of how religion functions as boundary markers in the Northern Ireland) by returning to the past in order to deal with the fears and instabilities of the future. The Free Presbyterian Church's decision to remove Paisley is therefore not an indication that Calvinist impulses are being abandoned as a response to the new political environment of Northern Ireland, as may be the case with other evangelical groupings (Ganiel, 2006), but rather the opposite. To maintain the fundamentalist impulses which provide structure for the Free Presbyterian tradition the Church has therefore retreated from the political realm and opposed its influence by taking shelter in the sanctified and secure world of the theological and the religious.…”

‘Preaching to the Choir?’ An Analysis of DUP Discourses about the Northern Ireland Peace Process

“…For the DUP, Sinn Féin and other actors in the peace process (the UUP, and the British and Irish governments) contravene moral standards by lying about their true intents and by ignoring democratic principles. These moral discourses are often (though not always) bound up with covenantal Calvinist religious conceptions (Akenson, 1992;Mitchel, 2003;Ganiel, 2006). This allows the DUP to draw on the considerable capital it gains as a result of Paisley's status as a Free Presbyterian minister, and the religiosity (and perceived honesty and morality) of many of its politicians (Bruce, 1986(Bruce, , 2006Southern, 2005).…”

“…The way leaders 'frame' such processes can impact on how their followers perceive and interpret important events (Touraine, 1978;Ganiel, 2006). The main ways that political parties get their message across are through the media, and direct communications with the grassroots.…”