Church and State: The Irish Experience
| Theme: | (Exploring) Systematic Theology |
| ECTS: | 5 |
| Module Code: | JS9 |
| Contact Hours | 22 |
| Mode of Delivery | 16 lectures and 6 seminars |
| Lecturer: | To be appointed (Lecturer in Systematic Theology) |
Module Description:
The political identity of the early Christian community was complex. Relative to the political structure of the Roman Empire, they styled themselves, ‘resident aliens’. The module will briefly recall the complex political identity of early Christian communities and the theological reasons for this.
The module will study the Irish experience of Church and State. Since the reformation settlement of the sixteenth century, although it was the church of the majority of Irish citizens, its place in public life was marginal. Its position was transformed after Catholic Emancipation (1829) and for much of the nineteenth century bishops such as Paul Cullen attempted to bolster the position of the church. Irish independence after the Treaty brought the Church to a new place of prominence. The Constitution of 1937 enshrined ‘the special position’ of the Catholic Church in article 44 until its removal in 1973. The later decades of the twentieth century witnessed fresh debate on the position of the church in society, especially as that society became more diverse.
Indicative Bibliography:
Cavanaugh, W.T., Migrations of the holy: God, State and the Political Meaning of the Church (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm B. Eerdnans, 2011).
Hannon P., Church, State, Morality and Law (Dublin: Gill and Macmillan,1992).
Keogh, D., Ireland and the Vatican: The Politics and Diplomacy of Church-State Relations, 1922-1960 (Cork: University Press, 1995).
Larkin, E., The Roman Catholic Church and the Emergence of the Modern Irish Political System, 1874-1878, (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2006).
Murray, J.C., The Problem of Religious Liberty (London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1965).
Whyte, J.H., Church and state in modern Ireland, 1923-1970 (Dublin: Gill and MacMillan, 1971).
Learning Outcomes:
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
- Explain the complex political identity of Christians in the period of the Roman Empire.
- Evaluate the Church and State in Ireland as it developed after the Constitution of 1937.
- Assess current debates between Church and State in such issues as the role of the Church in education.
Methods of Assessment and Student Workload:
Continually assessed.