Religion and Conflict in Northern Ireland : What Does Religion Do?

Northern Ireland presents a fundamental challenge for the sociology of religion - how do religious beliefs, attitudes and identities relate to practices, violence and conflict? In other words, what does religion do? These interrogations are at the core of this book. It is the first critical and comprehensive review of the ways in which the social sciences have interpreted religion's significance in Northern Ireland. In particular, it examines the shortcomings of existing interpretations and, in turn, suggests alternative lines of thinking for more robust and compelling analyses of the role(s) religion might play in Northern Irish culture and politics. Through, and beyond, the case of Northern Ireland, the second objective of this book is to outline a critical agenda for the social study of religion, which has theoretical and methodological underpinnings. Finally, this work engages with epistemological issues which never have been addressed as such in the Northern Irish context: how do conflict settings affect the research undertaken on religion, when religion is an object of political and violent contentions? By analysing the scope for objective and critical thinking in such research context, this critical essay intends to contribute to a sociology of the sociology of religion. Véronique Altglas is Lecturer in Sociology at Queen's University Belfast. She is General Secretary of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion since 2017. Her book From Yoga to Kabbalah: Religious Exoticism and the Logics of Bricolage (Oxford University Press, 2014) won the book award of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion in 2017 Northern Ireland presents a fundamental challenge for the sociology of religion - how do religious beliefs, attitudes and identities relate to practices, violence and conflict? In other words, what does religion do? These interrogations are at the core of this book. It is the first critical and comprehensive review of the ways in which the social sciences have interpreted religion's significance in Northern Ireland. In particular, it examines the shortcomings of existing interpretations and, in turn, suggests alternative lines of thinking for more robust and compelling analyses of the role(s) religion might play in Northern Irish culture and politics. Through, and beyond, the case of Northern Ireland, the second objective of this book is to outline a critical agenda for the social study of religion, which has theoretical and methodological underpinnings. Finally, this work engages with epistemological issues which never have been addressed as such in the Northern Irish context: how do conflict settings affect the research undertaken on religion, when religion is an object of political and violent contentions? By analysing the scope for objective and critical thinking in such research context, this critical essay intends to contribute to a sociology of the sociology of religion. Véronique Altglas is Lecturer in Sociology at Queen's University Belfast. She is General Secretary of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion since 2017. Her book From Yoga to Kabbalah: Religious Exoticism and the Logics of Bricolage (Oxford University Press, 2014) won the book award of the International Society for the Sociology of Religion in 2017 Acknowledgments Contents About the Author 1 Introduction References 2 Religion and Conflict in Northern Ireland: Context Brief History Religion in Northern Ireland Religious Landscape Secularisation Conservative Religious Culture Religion and Political Orientation References 3 Religion as Source of Conflict: Interpretations and Evidence General Overview The Weight of History Religion Is Important... Because It Is The Test Case: Protestantism and Unionist Politics References 4 Religion and the Reproduction of Social Divisions in Northern Ireland Anti-Catholicism and Subjectivism Religion in Socio-economic Context Sectarianism, Intra-Class Dynamics and Politics References 5 Sociology and Conflict: Epistemological Challenges The Anti-Catholic Illusio Double Play and Historical Materialism Politics and the Sociological Understanding of Inequalities Inequalities and the Sociology of Religion in Northern Ireland Anti-Catholicism, Anti-Protestantism, Reciprocity and Equivalences References Conclusion Synthesis Critical Sociology and Social Conflict What Does Religion Do? References Index