Table of Contents

Preface, Brendan McNamara (University College Cork, Ireland) and Hazel O’Brien (Waterford Institute of Technology, Ireland)
Part I: Disciplinary Overview of the Study of Religions in Ireland
1. The Study of Religions in Ireland – an Entangled History, Alexandra Grieser (Trinity College Dublin) and Brian Bocking (Professor Emeritus at University College Cork, Ireland)
2. Historical Perspectives: Irish Nationalist Women’s Religious and Political Revolutions, Amy Heath Carpentier (Washington University, USA)
3. Reflections on Irish Folklore and Religion, Sile De Cleir (University of Limerick, Ireland)
4. The Academic Discipline of Religious Education at Primary Level in Ireland, Patricia Kieran (Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick, Ireland)
5. Understanding the Sociology of Religion in Contemporary Ireland, Ganiel Gladys (Queens University, Belfast, UK)
Part II. Themes in the Contemporary Study of Religions in Ireland
6. Esotericism, Romantic Nationalism, and the Birth of the Irish State, Jenny Butler (University College Cork, Ireland)
7. Affirmations of Irishness: Traversing the Contours of Irish Protestant Identity, Deirdre Nutall (Independent Researcher, Ireland) and Tony Walsh (Maynooth University, Ireland)
8. Situating New Religious Movements in Contemporary Ireland, Vesna Malesevic (NUI Galway, Ireland)
9. Migrant Religions and the Irish State, Abel Ugba (University of Leeds, UK)
10. Irish Catholicism: Where has it Been and Where is it Going?, Brian Conway (Maynooth University, Ireland)
11. Thinking beyond the Island: Buddhism, Ireland and Method in the Study of Religions, Laurence Cox (Maynooth University, Ireland) and Brian Bocking (Professor Emeritus at University College Cork, Ireland)
Postface, Mapping the Religious Field in Ireland, Tom Inglis (Professor Emeritus University College Dublin, Ireland)
Bibliography
Index

Promotional Information

Offers an assessment of contemporary religions in Ireland and their relationships to society, culture, economics, politics, and the State.

About the Author

Brendan McNamara is a lecturer in the study of religions at University College Cork, Ireland.
Hazel O'Brien is a lecturer in sociology at South East Technological University, Ireland.

Reviews

For centuries, religion has played a major role in Irish society but The Study of Religions in Ireland is the first critical study dealing with the different religions in Ireland in the past and at present. This volume is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the fundamental changes that Irish society is undergoing in relation to religion at large.
*Tuula Sakaranaho, Emerita Professor of the Study of Religions, University of Helsinki, Finland*

This book is a landmark publication, which offers a state-of-the-art survey of religions in Ireland and an ambitious agenda for future work in this increasingly important field. It will be essential reading for scholars, practitioners and journalists.
*Crawford Gribben, Professor of History, Queen’s University Belfast, UK*

15 years after the establishment of the first Study of Religions Department in Ireland at University College Cork, this volume offers a highly valuable snapshot of current research on Ireland’s diverse religious field and promises to inspire more research in the future.
*Oliver Scharbrodt, Professor of Islamic Studies, Lund University, Sweden*

This book makes and holds space for a diverse and nuanced discussion on the dynamics of religion in Irish life, and the relationships between religion and identity, gender, community life and social and political history. It will be an important touchstone for scholars across a number of disciplines that engage with the continuing significance of religion in contemporary life, as well as the material, cultural and social heritages of religion in Ireland.
*Niamh NicGhabhann, Senior Lecturer in History, University of Limerick, Ireland*

We find in the diversity and extent of the collection a comprehensive filling of a gap in the literature. As far as being field-defining, this purpose is achieved insofar as, from the first page, there is a sense of being introduced to an emerging discipline. In this volume, the editors, Brendan McNamara and Hazel O’Brien, introduce the reader to ASR (Academic Study of Religions) in Ireland, and provide a diverse overview of religions that are old and new to Ireland, with an in-depth historical overview from different perspectives … We consider this book to have much to offer as a valuable source for the academic community, students, and lay readers interested in the study of religions in Ireland.
*Numen*