Northern Ireland,employment and the law

Employment Equality in Northern Ireland, vols I‐III Eithne McLaughlin (series ed.), 1997 Belfast, Standing Advisory Committee on Human Rights ISBN 0.9527.5280.8

Vol. I. Fair Employment Law in Northern Ireland: Debates and Issues Denise Magill & Sarah Rose (eds) pp. 202

Vol. II. Policy Aspects of Employment Equality in Northern Ireland Eithne McLaughlin & Padraic Quirk (eds) pp.197

Vol. III. Public Views and Experiences of Fair Employment and Equality Issues in Northern Ireland John McVey & Nigel Hutson (eds) pp. 170     

Identity Politics and the Religious Right: Hiding Hate in the Landscape

Identity theory has had important theoretical implications for analysis of political action, but has tended mostly to examine identity formation and political action on the left. Any theory concerned with eradicating oppression must also analyze identity formation and political action of groups on the right whose politics are often based on exclusion and hate. Thus the empirical part of this paper focuses on the religious right, specifically Liberty University, in Lynchburg, Virginia. The potency of the religious right lies in an identity politics which simultaneously asserts that fundamentalists are essentially different from those "of the world" but should nonetheless equate themselves politically with economic conservatives. This allows Liberty to borrow freely from the symbols and trappings of economic conservatism while blurring the hate and antagonistic othering inherent in essentialist notions of fundamentalist identity.     

The Planning System in Northern Ireland Post-devolution

Devolution within the UK has produced new systems of governance within Scotland and Wales and restored to Northern Ireland local accountability following three decades of direct administration. The paper reviews the different status of Northern Ireland to provide both an understanding of the context in which planning has been set and the new structures that are taking shape. Particular focus is placed upon the ambitious mechanisms underlying the Agreement between the political parties in the province. The paper discusses how planning issues and responsibilities have moved from one highly centralized government department pre-devolution to effectively three new departments thereby providing a test not only of joined-up governance but of the ability of the new devolved structures to work effectively. Challenges posed by the different competencies are debated and emerging issues are discussed in terms of coherent planning at regional, subregional and local levels.     

Sexual citizenship in Belfast,Northern Ireland

In this article we examine the contours and construction of sexual citizenship in Belfast, Northern Ireland through in‐depth interviews with 30 members of the GLBT community and a discursive analysis of discourses of religion and nationalism. In the first half of the article we outline how sexual citizenship was constructed in the Irish context from the mid‐nineteenth century onwards, arguing that a moral conservatism developed as a result of religious reform and the interplay between Catholic and Protestant churches, and the redefining of masculinity and femininity with the rise of nationalism. In the second half of the article, we detail how the Peace Process has offered new opportunities to challenge and destabilise hegemonic discourses of sexual citizenship by transforming legislation and policing, and encouraging inward investment and gentrification.     

Religion and the US Presidency: Politics,the Media,and Religious Identity

Abstract

The relationship between religion and the presidency impacts both the viability of candidates and the manner in which decisions are made in the voting booth. Today we are living in culture where religion is front and center in politics. This article examines the role of religion in political discourse with special attention to the 2012 presidential election. It focuses on the manner in which religion and politics have become inextricably interwoven in the past sixty years. It begins by establishing the role of religion in the broader political arena. The article then turns to the manner in which religious identity and participation influence voting patterns, and how religious affiliation shapes the office of the presidency. The conclusion offers some reflections on the future of religion in presidential politics, an issue that will continue to be a significant factor in how and why voters support and marginalize particular candidates.     

君主制时代法兰西国王及其国家的“宗教身份”问题

从中世纪后期直至法国大革命初期,君主制下的法国国王在宗教身份上一直拥有一个具有强烈象征意义的、其他任何国家的君主均不得“盗用”的称号,即“笃信王”(法文SaMajest啨Tr埁sChr啨tienne,英文HisMostChristianMajesty)。从“笃信王”概念的源流、“笃信王”内涵的演变以及“笃信王”称谓在社会政治生活中的运用等方面可以看出,“笃信王”一词虽然是由罗马教廷于公元8世纪时首创,但到了中世纪后期,它却成为法国国王用以同罗马教廷以及基督教世界其他敌对国家进行斗争的工具。正是借助于“笃信王”这一身份,法国方面在舆论上维护了自身的独立地位。也正是借助于“笃信王”这一头衔,法国王权获得了凌驾于法国教会之上的特殊权力,进而促使法国王权走上政教合一的“绝对主义”道路。     

The Forgotten History of the Protestant Crusade: Religious Liberalism in Ireland1

Irish historians do not generally identify religious liberalism as a feature of the 1820s. Instead, they have mapped religious conflict onto increasingly binary conflicts in the socio‐economic, cultural, and political spheres. The “Second Reformation” missionary movement put evangelicals and Catholics on a direct collision course and, consequently, historians have argued that it was a key factor in the emergence both of Irish Catholic nationalism and Protestant defensive co‐operation. However, the Crusade also produced a strong Protestant backlash alongside the growing sectarian conflict. In County Limerick, for example, two versions of Church of Ireland opposition emerged during 1820, among high church clergy including Bishop Jebb and among liberal Protestant gentlemen. Instead of closing down debate into rigid binary opposition along sectarian lines, the Limerick evidence shows that the Crusade produced a much more complex religious, social, and political debate than historians have recognised which, in turn, made possible a wider range of responses to key Irish problems.