The Question of Obedience and the Formation of Confessional Identity in the Irish Reformation

Hutchinson, Mark A ORCID: 0000-0003-1413-6382 (2020) The Question of Obedience and the Formation of Confessional Identity in the Irish Reformation. Archiv fur reformationsgeschichte-Archive for reformation history, 111 (1). pp. 143-169. doi:10.14315/arg-2020-1110107/html

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Abstract

This article explains religious change in Ireland in terms of the crown’s call for obedience in a well-order commonwealth. It takes the position that religious Reformation was not initially presented as a choice between distinct confessions. Instead, it consisted of a call to obey the ordained head of the commonwealth and a call to return to an original truth. This meant the space for dissent or opposition was extremely small. On this basis, the article argues that dissent from the crown’s position was only able to emerge in Ireland because two competing definitions of obedience emerged. The Old English stuck fast to an original call for commonwealth reform, which was about understanding how God had structured society by following the rules set out in English law and by the Church. In contrast, New English reformed protestants emphasized the need for God’s saving grace and conscience-based reform as the basis of obedience. Here the Old English became aware that they held to a different idea of obedience and reform, which allowed them to articulate a separate religious identity using their own language of obedience.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BL Religion B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BR Christianity D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain > DA1 History of Great Britain > DA20 England > DA28 History > DA129 By period > DA300 Modern, 1485- D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain > DA1 History of Great Britain > DA900 Ireland > DA909 History > DA930 Early and Medieval to 1603
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Creative Arts
Research Priority Areas:	Culture, Continuity, and Transformation
Depositing User:	Mark Hutchinson
Date Deposited:	03 Oct 2023 12:00
Last Modified:	05 Oct 2023 10:47
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/13243

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