This book contains original research on conflict, peacebuilding and the current state of identities and relationships in relation to the Northern Ireland conflict. It accesses the state of national identity politics in Northern Ireland a generation after the 1998 Agreement, as well as the impact and meaning of Brexit. It considers feminist and faith-based peace activism during ‘the Troubles’, and expressions of Irish national identity. It also includes revealing comparative case studies: Protestant-Catholic conflict elsewhere in Europe and nationalism in the Balkans. The Politics of Conflict and Transformation: The Island of Ireland in Comparative Perspective arises from a conference celebrating the work of Jennifer Todd, Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations at University College Dublin, who has been one of the most influential scholars of her generation. Her research has examined conflict and transformation in Ireland from the level of grassroots identities to geopolitical forces. She has placed contemporary crises in the peace process in the context of patterns of conflict and change over centuries. She has both expounded the rich detail of the Northern Ireland and Irish-British conflicts and placed them in their regional and global contexts. Written by some of the leading scholars on peace and conflict in Ireland, the chapters in this edited volume build on Todd’s work and are a testament to the thematic and methodological breadth and depth of her output. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Irish and British history and politics, Peace and Conflict Studies, and the sociology of identity, conflict, and peacebuilding. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Irish Political Studies.

This book contains original research on conflict, peacebuilding and the current state of identities and relationships in relation to the Northern Ireland conflict. It accesses the state of national identity politics in Northern Ireland a generation after the 1998 Agreement, as well as the impact and meaning of Brexit. It considers feminist and faith-based peace activism during 'the Troubles', and expressions of Irish national identity. It also includes revealing comparative case studies: Protestant-Catholic conflict elsewhere in Europe and nationalism in the Balkans. The Politics of Conflict and Transformation: The Island of Ireland in Comparative Perspective arises from a conference celebrating the work of Jennifer Todd, Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations at University College Dublin, who has been one of the most influential scholars of her generation. Her research has examined conflict and transformation in Ireland from the level of grassroots identities to geopolitical forces. She has placed contemporary crises in the peace process in the context of patterns of conflict and change over centuries. She has both expounded the rich detail of the Northern Ireland and Irish-British conflicts and placed them in their regional and global contexts. Written by some of the leading scholars on peace and conflict in Ireland, the chapters in this edited volume build on Todd's work and are a testament to the thematic and methodological breadth and depth of her output. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of Irish and British history and politics, Peace and Conflict Studies, and the sociology of identity, conflict, and peacebuilding. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Irish Political Studies.

Transforming Post-Catholic Ireland is the first major book to explore the dynamic religious landscape of contemporary Ireland, north and south, and to analyse the island's religious transition. It confirms that the Catholic Church's long-standing 'monopoly' has well and truly disintegrated, replaced by a mixed, post-Catholic religious 'market' featuring new and growing expressions of Protestantism, as well as other religions. It describes how people of faith are developing 'extra-institutional' expressions of religion, keeping their faith alive outside or in addition to the institutional Catholic Church. Drawing on island-wide surveys of clergy and laypeople, as well as more than 100 interviews, Gladys Ganiel describes how people of faith are engaging with key issues such as increased diversity, reconciliation to overcome the island's sectarian past, and ecumenism. Ganiel argues that extra-institutional religion is especially well-suited to address these and other issues due to its freedom and flexibility when compared to traditional religious institutions. She explains how those who practice extra-institutional religion have experienced personal transformation, and analyses the extent that they have contributed to wider religious, social, and political change. On an island where religion has caused much pain, from clerical sexual abuse scandals, to sectarian violence, to a frosty reception for some immigrants, those who practice their faith outside traditional religious institutions may hold the key to transforming post-Catholic Ireland into a more reconciled society.

The Emerging Church Movement (ECM) is a creative, entrepreneurial religious movement that strives to achieve social legitimacy and spiritual vitality by actively disassociating from its roots in conservative, evangelical Christianity and ''deconstructing'' contemporary expressions of Christianity. Emerging Christians see themselves as overturning outdated interpretations of the Bible, transforming hierarchical religious institutions, and re-orienting Christianity to step outside the walls of church buildings toward working among and serving others in the ''real world.'' Drawing on ethnographic observations from emerging congregations, pub churches, neo-monastic communities, conferences, online networks, in-depth interviews, and congregational surveys in the US, UK, and Ireland, Gerardo Marti and Gladys Ganiel provide a comprehensive social scientific analysis of the development and significance of the ECM. Emerging Christians are shaping a distinct religious orientation that encourages individualism, deep relationships with others, new ideas about the nature of truth, doubt, and God, and innovations in preaching, worship, Eucharist, and leadership.

Why do some people become more religiously conservative over time, whilst others moderate their views or abandon faith altogether? Drawing on 95 interviews with evangelicals and ex-evangelicals in Northern Ireland, this book explores how religious journeys are shaped by social structures and by individual choices. It tells the stories of pro-life picketers, liberal peace-campaigning ministers, housewives afraid of the devil, students deconstructing their faith and atheists mortified by their religious past. Through hearing everyday stories about love, family, work and health, as well as politics, this book explores the many different worlds of ordinary evangelicals in Northern Ireland and the surprising ways in which their beliefs and practices can change over time. "Evangelical Journeys" is a well written book in a jargon-free style that will make it of interest to general as well as specialist readers.

Winner of the Distinguished Book Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion The Emerging Church Movement (ECM) is a creative, entrepreneurial religious movement that strives to achieve social legitimacy and spiritual vitality by actively disassociating from its roots in conservative, evangelical Christianity and "deconstructing" contemporary expressions of Christianity. Emerging Christians see themselves as overturning outdated interpretations of the Bible, transforming hierarchical religious institutions, and re-orienting Christianity to step outside the walls of church buildings toward working among and serving others in the "real world." Drawing on ethnographic observation of emerging congregations, pub churches, neo-monastic communities, conferences, online networks, in-depth interviews, and congregational surveys in the US, UK, and Ireland, Gerardo Marti and Gladys Ganiel provide a comprehensive social-scientific analysis of the development and significance of the ECM. Emerging Christians, they find, are shaping a distinct religious orientation that encourages individualism, deep relationships with others, new ideas about the nature of truth, doubt, and God, and innovations in preaching, worship, Eucharist, and leadership.