Between the devil and the deep blue sea: nationality, power and symbolic trade‐offs among evangelical Protestants in contemporary Northern Ireland¹

Abstract

Contact. Jennifer.todd@ucd.ieThis is the pre-peer-reviewed version of the following article: Between the devil and the deep blue sea: nationality, power and symbolic trade-offs among evangelical Protestants in contemporary Northern Ireland, Nations and Nationalism Volume 13 Issue 4, Pages 637 -655 which has been published in final form at http://www3.interscience. Jennifer Todd is presently director of the Institute for British Irish Studies, UCD, and has led several research projects on changing forms of national identity at the Geary Institute, UCD. She has published widely on the Northern Ireland conflict and on issues of national identity and ethnicity.

Symbolic landscapes: Exploring what markings, murals and memorials reflect about interculturism on Belfast’s Ormeau Road

“…Although the areas other than DP have a majority Catholic population, the data does not reflect a homogenous ethno-national identity in any area, with LO being the closest to a single identity community and figures indicating a correlation between religion and national identity in DP. Mitchell and Todd (2007) reported radical shifts after the Belfast Agreement in the content of identity which was based on an interplay of interest and identity. The present study shows perhaps a wider application of their finding, suggesting that, despite the strong cleavage that the polarised political landscape indicates, there is movement in identification.…”

Free Presbyterianism and Political Change in Northern Ireland

“…Such a development meant that the co-existence of separatism and power-sharing would become untenable, bringing about a fissure between political and religious worlds that previously overlapped and relied on each other in order to reinforce security and moral force. Although there is evidence that those regarded as religious fundamentalists are not exempt from adapting to changing social circumstances (Mitchell & Todd, 2007), what is noticeable from Paisley's political transformation is that for many Free Presbyterians the ethos of separation has been seriously compromised by powersharing. Even if there has been some attempt within the Church to demarcate politics as incidental to core beliefs, this has created a crisis of self-definition for Free Presbyterianism.…”

Ethnoreligious Change in Northern Ireland and Zimbabwe: A Comparative Study of How Religious Havens Can Have Ethnic Significance

“…These combine to ensure that Catholics and Protestants live in 'different worlds', which are at once practically coherent to those inside them, but mutually exclusive to those outside them. The collaborative work of Mitchell & Todd (2007) and Ganiel (2006aGaniel ( , 2006bGaniel ( , 2008aGaniel ( , 2008b has added to the complexity of this analysis. Mitchell and Todd's article on Protestants demonstrates the surprising result that evangelicals or those who hold strong religious beliefs appear to be more pragmatic in adjusting to the new political order.…”