Conclusion

Abstract

The range of responses about identity and change in this book reflect a complexity and diversity in the Protestant impulse which range from liberal/conservative to fundamentalist outlooks. The fundamentalist worldview found resonance in the Northern Ireland conflict because, as the more extreme position, it was able to articulate in the harshest terms what the perceived dangers to Ulster identity were. In this climate, these dangers existed as any possible undermining of Protestant culture, which itself was unified as a form of defence (this, at least, appeared to be the thrust of Paisley’s message). The fundamentalist line for defence was therefore an argument for homogenisation, where the measure of loyalty was made against the toughest and most unbending line, and where the more liberal churches were the potential ‘enemy within’, their moderation threatening to weaken Ulster. Protestant identity, from the fundamentalist perspective, was driven by the need to protect and preserve a fixed imagination of Ulster which reflected not liberal but fundamentalist rhetoric. Within this environment complexity risked fragmentation and recognition of others risked diminution of the Ulster dream.