ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on evangelical Protestantism in Northern Ireland, arguing that it presents a formidable challenge to the assumptions of secularization theory. Evangelicals are those Protestants who believe that one must be converted or 'bom-again', that the Bible is the inspired word of God, that the crucifixion was necessary to save the world and that faith must be exercised through social action and evangelism. The chapter shows how evangelicals have found ways to adapt their faith in the face of rapid social and political change and to remain numerically strong and culturally relevant. It underlines the diversity of ways in which evangelicals have responded to change –from those who have become more conservative, even apocalyptic in their beliefs, to those who have taken their faith in a more post-modern direction. The chapter outlines a number of different ways in which evangelicals in Northern Ireland are adapting to social and political change.
