Download or read book History and the Shaping of Irish Protestantism written by Desmond Bowen and published by Peter Lang Incorporated, International Academic Publishers. This book was released on 1995 with total page 756 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A continuing problem for political authorities and scholars is understanding the mentality of Irish Protestants, especially in Ulster, where churchmen seem to exist in a 'primal sense of siege'. This study argues that the mind of Irish Protestantism is a reflection of the historical experience of a minority people who have found themselves under perennial attack both religiously and culturally. The work traces the tensions between the dual authorities of Rome and Britain, especially from the time of the Reformation, and how this dialectic has contributed to the development of the Irish Protestant identity. Special attention is paid to the Ulster 'troubles' in the twentieth century.