Religion and Political Culture in Britain and Ireland

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that religion has been at the heart of the shaping of political culture in the British Isles since the Reformation; but what were the central components of that culture, how did they change over time, and how should one characterize the relationship between religion and political culture in modern Britain and Ireland at the beginning of a new century? At stake here is no mere exercise in the by-ways of cultural history, but rather the analysis of a vital ingredient of national identity in Britain and Ireland which has done much to shape their interaction with each other, with Europe and the wider world. This chapter will aim to explore some of the historical roots of religion and political culture in the British Isles before investigating three of its thorniest contemporary problems — the continuing conflict in Northern Ireland, the rise of new religious traditions in Britain as a result of population migrations from parts of the former British Empire, and the rapid decline of the old Christian denominations as part of the wider secularization of British culture.