Acting for and against religion: A study of Irish culture and strife

A phrase I often hear from students on our campus is “I hate religion,” in reference to an increasing distrust in churches, superficial Christianity and faith without works. This understandable (albeit, perhaps, poorly worded) sentiment is representative of a desire to kill the superficial parts of our faith that turn non-believers away and to differentiate between cultural Christianity and true Christianity.  

Considering all the strife that has resulted from an incorrect or incomplete adherence to biblical truth, it’s difficult to argue with the legitimacy of that mentality. 

The 22nd of this month marked the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, a historical event that put an end to the 30-year-long period of strife and violence, known as the Troubles, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The conflict and its consequences, which involved Catholics and Protestants in the Belfast community, still reverberate in the culture today. Out of this horribly tragic period of Irish history came opportunity for reconciliation, countless works of literature, film, verse and growth, but Ireland still carries both scar and testimony of the Troubles. 

The Guardian details the purely self-motivated efforts of Malcolm Sutton to document all of the deaths that came as a result of the Troubles. The total tally — Sutton stopped counting in the year 2001 — came to 3,532, a number that encompasses children, paramilitary members, tourists, farmers and others. This data is heartbreaking, but simultaneously helpful, as it provides insight into an incredibly formative period of Irish history. 

When I ponder Ireland, I think of tradition, sorrow, love, beauty, death and longing that are all tied into one. I think of the religion and the syncretism and the banshees that lurk around every corner of the imagination. I think of home and the meaning some draw from calling Ireland “home.” 

Part of that meaning is found through religion, repetition, tradition and ritual. Now, the Christian faith and history that so clearly pervade the culture (often tainted by syncretism) are being traded for a reversion to neopaganism and gravitation toward woke values. 

In the Republic of Ireland (not to be confused with Northern Ireland), natural law is being written out of the Irish Constitution, and religion is being used as a type of red herring. The Family Amendment was recently proposed as one of two referendums in an effort to recognize nontraditional family styles (or any family style, for that matter), as opposed to only one created through marriage. This amendment would consequently cause the definition of “family” to become subjective in nature and could have very large ramifications. 

AP News said, “The referendum was viewed as part of Ireland’s evolution from a conservative, overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country in which divorce and abortion were illegal, to an increasingly diverse and socially liberal society.”  

Voters overwhelmingly vetoed this amendment, but, considering the recent amendments made to the Irish Constitution and the route that Irish culture and values are now taking, it’s only a matter of time before that changes. 

On the one hand, the Troubles represented the weaponization of religion as it pertained to Christianity. These two sects, Catholics and Protestants, murdered one another and dehumanized — or othered — next-door neighbors who professed to call on the name of Christ. 

On the other hand, the Republic of Ireland’s government is currently trying to deconstitutionalize natural law and a biblical understanding of the constituent parts of a family. 

Both of these movements were and are related to religion, but neither mention Christ. In an attempt to distract from truth, instead the banner of religion is put in Christ’s place, and thus agendas are more easily justified. 

At the risk of oversimplifying a very complicated situation, what needs to take place in Ireland is the continual reintroduction of the gospel simply, truthfully and with the love that turns an enemy into a brother and the sinner into the redeemed.

Glen is the social media & web manager for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X