Ireland S Holy Wars

For much of the twentieth century, Ireland has been synonymous with conflict, the painful struggle for its national soul part of the regular fabric of life. And because the Irish have emigrated to all parts of the world--while always remaining Irish--"the troubles" have become part of a common heritage, well beyond their own borders. In most accounts of Irish history, the focus is on the political rivalry between Unionism and Republicanism. But the roots of the Irish conflict are profoundly and inescapably religious. As Marcus Tanner shows in this vivid, warm, and perceptive book, only by understanding the consequences over five centuries of the failed attempt by the English to make Ireland into a Protestant state can the pervasive tribal hatreds of today be seen in context. Tanner traces the creation of a modern Irish national identity through the popular resistance to imposed Protestantism and the common defense of Catholicism by the Gaelic Irish and the Old English of the Pale, who settled in Ireland after its twelfth-century conquest. The book is based on detailed research into the Irish past and a personal encounter with today's Ireland, from Belfast to Cork. Tanner has walked with the Apprentice Boys of Derry and explored the so-called Bandit Country of South Armagh. He has visited churches and religious organizations across the thirty-two counties of Ireland, spoken with priests, pastors, and their congregations, and crossed and re-crossed the lines that for centuries have isolated the faiths of Ireland and their history.

Seventeenth Century Irelandwas chosen by CHOICEfor the 1989-1990 Outstanding Academic Books and Nonprint Material (OABN) list. The OABN list includes only the top 10% of all books reviewed by CHOICE in 1989. Contents: Introduction; Identities and Allegiances, 1603-25; The Crown and the Catholics: Royal Government and Policy 1625-37; Fateful Ideologies: The Stuart Inheritance; Wentworth and the Ulster Crisis, 1638-9; On the Eve of Revolution, 1639-41; 1641: The Plot That Never Was; Insurrection and Confederation, 1641-4; In Search of a Settlement: Ormond, Rinuccini and Cromwell, 1645-53; Theology and the Politics of Sovereignty: Jansenist, Jesuit and Franciscan; Ideologies in Conflict, 1660-91; References; Bibliography; Index R

Religions are reemerging in the social, political, and economic spheres previously occupied and dominated by secular institutions and ideologies. In the wake of crises exposing the limits of secular modernity, religions have again become significant players in domestic and international politics. At the same time, the Catholic Church has sought a "holy alliance" among the world's faiths to recentralize devout influence, an important, albeit little-noticed, evolution in international relations. Holy Wars and Holy Alliance explores the nation-state's current crisis in order to better understand the religious resurgence's implications for geopolitics. Manlio Graziano looks at how the Catholic Church promotes dialogue and action linking world religions, and examines how it has used its material, financial, and institutional strength to gain power and increase its profile in present-day international politics. Challenging the idea that modernity is tied to progress and secularization, Graziano documents the "return" or the "revenge" of God in all facets of life. He shows that tolerance, pluralism, democracy, and science have not triumphed as once predicted. To fully grasp the destabilizing dynamics at work today, he argues, we must appreciate the nature of religious struggles and political holy wars now unfolding across the international stage.

The Protestants of Ireland are a missing piece in the puzzle of the wars of the three kingdoms of the 1640s. This book provides a rich narrative of the struggles and dilemmas of that community, and its place in the wider conflict throughout Britain and Ireland. New light is shed upon the aims and aspirations of parliamentarians, royalists and covenanters in civil war England, and the formation of Protestant and "British" identities in seventeenth century Ireland.