EVERYDAY
EVANGELICALS:
LIFE IN A RELIGIOUS
SUBCULTURE AFTER THE
BELFAST AGREEMENT
A New Perspective on Northern Irish Evangelicalism
Everyday Evangelicals
Gladys Ganiel, Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity
College Dublin (gganiel@tcd.ie)
Claire Mitchell, Queen’s University Belfast,
(claire.mitchell@qub.ac.uk)
Religion & the NI Conflict
Religion as an ethnic marker
But, evangelicalism as especially
important for Protestant identity
What is Evangelicalism?

Evangelicals
25 – 30 per cent of the Protestant population
 Emerged as a movement in 18th century revivals
 What do evangelicals believe?





Must be ‘born again’
Bible is the inspired word of God
Christ’s death on the cross was a historical event necessary for
salvation
Christians must express their faith through social action/evangelism
Evangelicalism & Macro Politics



Evangelicalism conceived
in rigid social or political
categories
Seen as a politicised
religion, linked to conflict
and boundary
maintenance
Change to be expected
in response to devolution
Micro-level Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism as a
subculture based on
beliefs as well as
social relationships
and networks.
Potential for subcultural
resources to prompt
change.
Findings: A Distinct Subculture
Some important
intertwining of
religion & politics,
but five other
significant
‘subcultural tools’
Centrality of ‘conversion’
ye
must
be
born
again!
Supernaturalism
Supernaturalism, attributing agency to God (often
rather than to self)
Existential Questions
Predominance of
existential questions
(including fear of hell,
meaning of life)
The Advocate
The importance of
the ‘advocate’
Everyday Life
Devotional life and practice (prayer
meetings, daily bible readings,
networks)
Importance?
As evangelicals negotiate social & political change,
they don’t just react to macro political changes or
simply draw on the religio-political ideas and
resources that have been emphasised in the
academic literature.
They have a much greater religious repertoire for
‘making sense’ of change.
Trajectories of Change

Privatising

Moderating

Transforming
Trajectories of Change

Converting

Conserving

Exiting
Conclusions: Evangelicalism in a Plural
Public Sphere