This is a historical study of the most influential and important Protestant group in Northern Ireland - the Ulster Presbyterians. Andrew R. Holmes argues that to understand Ulster Presbyterianism is to begin to understand the character of Ulster Protestantism more generally and the relationship between religion and identity in present-day Northern Ireland.

Andrew R. Holmes is Lecturer in Modern Irish History, School of History and Anthropology, Queen's University, Belfast.

• Introduction


• I. Time


• 11: The Lord's Day


• 2: Days of fasting and thanksgiving


• 3: Calendrical customs and alternative beliefs


• II. Public worship in the meeting-house


• 4: Psalmody


• 5: Preaching


• 6: Communion and discipline


• III. Rites of passage


• 7: Baptism


• 8: Marriage and sexual relationships


• 9: Death


• IV. Religious instruction, fellowship, and activity beyond the meeting-house


• 10: Catechizing, education, and reading practices


• 11: Family worship, prayer meetings, and lay involvement in church life


• Conclusion