Rendering to God and Caesar' : the Irish Churches and the two states in Ireland, 1949-73

Abstract

This study focuses on the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church, as all-Ireland organizations, in the period 1949 to 1973. It examines the following interrelated questions: what was the impact of the political border on the churches as all-Ireland organizations? What was the nature of relations between the minority churches and the states within which they was obliged to operate, i.e. the Church of Ireland in the Republic and the Roman Catholic Church in Northern Ireland's This incorporates the first half-decade of the Troubles. What developments occurred in inter-church relations in these years and why? These questions are approached from the perspective of the respective benches of bishops, in addition to the more familiar political sources, as bishops were both churchmen and leaders of their communities.