The catalyst for this book came from a decision within the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (P.C.I.) to undertake a research project addressing the question ‘How did Presbyterians Respond to the Troubles?’ That decision itself emerged out of the P.C.I.'s 2016 ‘Vision for society’ statement in which the church confessed ‘our failure to live as Biblically faithful Christian peacebuilders’ and affirmed a commitment to Christian peacebuilding. It had several motives for the research project. The findings would be used to reflect self-critically on past failures as well as to offer a basis for a public discussion around reconciliation and dealing with the past. Simultaneously, it would provide opportunity for careful listening to victims and others impacted during the Troubles. Out of such listening, resources would be developed for ministers and for congregations to help them unpack what it means in practice to be peacebuilders today.
Gladys Ganiel, a sociologist of religion at Queen's University Belfast, helped to secure funding for the research. The resultant publication is wholly written by Ganiel. Her co-author, Jamie Yohanis, conducted and transcribed most of the 120 interviews with ordinary men and women caught up in the violent conflict. Most are Presbyterians and successive chapters focus on ‘Ministers’, ‘Victims’ (the largest group of interviews), ‘Security forces’, ‘Those affected by loyalist paramilitarism’, ‘Emergency responders and health care workers’, ‘Quiet peacemakers’, ‘Politicians’, ‘Those who left Presbyterianism’, and ‘Critical friends’. The title, Considering grace, refers to the P.C.I.'s self-understanding ‘to be people called by God to grace-filled relationships’. The authors see the book as an invitation to all readers, not just Presbyterians, to consider what a gracious remembering of the past might look like in order to help create a better future. They do so, however, neither with a particular theological agenda nor by drawing conclusions with which the P.C.I. will be comfortable. As sociologists their stated goal is to reveal as complete a picture as possible by letting people speak freely of their experiences.
This is where the book becomes valuable historically. Despite the vast amount of academic research on the Troubles, first-hand research of a particular community like this is surprisingly scarce. A recurrent theme from the conversations is how rarely participants feel that their voices have been heard and their feelings understood. Another strength of the book is the intentional inclusion of a diverse range of people and perspectives. The study sample includes leaders and clergy but is not dominated by them. Geographically, interviewees are drawn from all over Northern Ireland as well as border counties and there is also an important emphasis on hearing from at least fifty women.
The interviews draw back a curtain on the raw pain, anger and continuing suffering of a community traumatised by political violence. It makes no claim that such suffering is unique, but the harrowing tales told are essential reading for anyone wishing to understand Protestant experience of the Troubles and their aftermath. They also reinforce the importance of taking participants’ religious beliefs into account in any analysis of the conflict. The significance of personal faith, and the pastoral support of church leaders and congregations surface repeatedly in the conversations, as do theological themes like forgiveness, justice, reconciliation, theodicy, peace-making and grace. While the participants often disagree profoundly about the meaning of these concepts, the connections between Christian faith, thoughts and actions are pervasive and significant.
The book also gives insight into the complex diversity of Irish Presbyterianism. The picture that emerges in Considering grace is a fair one. My study of Evangelicalism and national identity in Ulster, 1921–1998 (Oxford, 2003) described contemporary Irish Presbyterianism as a church on an uneasy journey of self-critical reassessment regarding its relationship with political unionism and orangeism, while simultaneously being a prime target of Paisleyism. I say ‘uneasy’ in that official reports often remain abstract statements of principle and do not necessarily reflect opinion ‘on the ground’. These internal tensions, combined with the denomination's bureaucratic and democratic structures, meant that during the Troubles (and since) the church tended to be politically tentative, lacking both the will and a common vision required for prophetic action. Certainly it is noteworthy how often interviewees, sometimes from opposing perspectives, express frustration at the P.C.I. for its inertia and caution. Diverse, and sometimes contradictory, criticisms include failure to confront Paisleyism, a lack of support for victims, a marginalisation of peace-making, a withdrawal from working-class loyalism, silence in the face of perceived republican rewriting of history after the Belfast Agreement, being a chaplain to one's own side, and ‘letting the Lord down’ by putting denominational unity before Jesus's teaching on forgiveness and love of enemies. Yet, to conclude on that note would not do justice to the tone of the book. The interviews remind us that the history of the Troubles consists primarily of stories of real people and their experiences of profound suffering. Those stories need to be told if there is to be a right remembering of the past. Considering grace makes an important contribution to that goal.
