There’s an opportunity to take part in a Lectio Divina Advent retreat workshop, ‘Weaving the Word,’ facilitated by Marie McStay, on Saturday 3 December, 10am-4.30pm, at Holy Cross Benedictine Monastery in Rostrevor. The fee is £40 and includes a light lunch. You can reserve your place by emailing insight@mariemcstay.com or 07833393491. McStay is an experienced […]
I have a new post on the Slugger O’Toole blog, a review of Rev Ken Newell’s book, ‘Captured by a Vision.’ Newell, a former minister at Fitzroy Presbyterian in Belfast, is best-known for his ecumenical peacemaking during the Troubles. Newell partnered with his friend the late Fr Gerry Reynolds of Clonard Monastery, and a group […]
Brian Conway, a lecturer in Sociology at Maynooth University, has reviewed my latest book, Transforming Post-Catholic Ireland: Religious Practice in Late Modernity, in the academic journal Irish Theological Quarterly 81(4), 2016. I’ve reproduced excerpts from the review below. I particularly appreciate how Brian raises questions about how the concept of ‘extra-institutional religion,’ that is described in the book, might […]
My latest book, Transforming Post-Catholic Ireland: Religious Practice in Late Modernity, has been reviewed on the new Reading Religion website, a publication of the American Academy of Religion. The review is written by Amy Heath-Carpentier, a graduate student at California Institute of Integral Studies & Assistant Director, Washington University in St. Louis. Excerpts are reproduced below: Much has […]
It was encouraging to see the website of the Association of Catholics in Ireland (ACI) feature my interview with Sean Moncrieff about my book, Transforming Post-Catholic Ireland, which generated some discussion in the comments section of their website. Even though I am an academic and therefore must write for an academic audience, I always hope that […]
Yesterday I was interviewed on Newstalk FM about my latest book, Transforming Post-Catholic Ireland: Religious Practice in Late Modernity. You can listen to the full interview (about 12 minutes) below, where host Sean Moncrieff asks some wide-ranging questions. I explain what I mean by post-Catholic, characterising it as a shift in consciousness in which the […]
The East Side Arts Festival kicks off this week with another stimulating and wide-ranging programme. Among the highlights is Still Bunker 2, a four-day event with a visual art, music, poetry and drawing participation. It will be launched at St Martin’s Church, Newtownards Road, Belfast on 11th August 2016 by Peter Osborne, chair of the Community […]
Holy Cross Benedictine Monastery in Rostrevor, Co. Down is hosting a conference, ‘Parables of Communion: Journeying Together,’ to celebrate the Jubilee of the Catholic ecumenical journal, One in Christ. There’s an engaging programme of worship, prayer, speaking, reflection, and pilgrimage to sites such as Saul Church and Down Cathedral. The speaking programme features contributors from the […]
I have a new post on the Slugger O’Toole blog: ‘We need to encourage young people that this is a place they can build their future: Report on ‘Let them Speak’ from the 4 Corners Festival.
Last week I presented a paper, ‘Ireland as a Post-Catholic Religious Market? The Role of Extra-Institutional Religion,’ at a conference on ‘The Church in a Pluralist Society,’ hosted by the Loyola Institute in Trinity College Dublin. The talk was based on my latest book, Transforming Post-Catholic Ireland: Religious Practice in Late Modernity. The paper explored three claims […]
This week the Loyola Institute in Trinity College Dublin is hosting an international interdisciplinary conference on ‘The Role of Church in a Pluralist Society: Good Riddance or Good Influence?’ The speakers include Terry Eagleton, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Hans Joas, William Cavanaugh, and Siobhán Garrigan, among others. Yesterday Peter Steinfels delivered a keynote address on ‘The […]