Northern
Unionism, Orangeism, Protestantism and Loyalism
is so heavily fragmented with splits, factions and
feuds that it will require radical theological surgery
to bring to an end almost a generation of bitter
internecine conflict and confrontation.
From
the start of the Troubles in 1986 until the 1998
parades dispute at in Portadown, County Armagh,
the 60,000-strong exclusively Protestant Orange
Order had traditionally always acted as the cement
which held the various unionist and loyalist factions
and classes together.
However,
the parades crisis across the North where the Order
was demanding its right to march through predominantly
Catholic localities has severely tarnished its image
on the global media stage, as well as losing the
movement considerable support amongst the highly
influential Protestant middle class.
For
the Orange Order to have a meaningful role within
Protestantism, it will have to abandon its political
activity and re-structure itself as an entirely
religious organisation dedicated to the defence
of the Biblical teachings of Jesus Christ.
A
formal split between the Order and the Ulster Unionist
Party’s governing body, the 900-delegate Ulster
Unionist Council, looks certain within the next
year. This is not primarily for religious reasons.
Politically, since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement,
the Order has been at odds with the pro-Agreement
thinking of the UUC.
The
Order’s 150 delegates have become a rallying
point for dissident anti-Agreement support on the
Council. In 1905, the UUC commemorates its centenary
(ironically, also the same year Sinn Fein was founded).
The
UUC was formed to mobilise Protestant opposition
to the Home Rule crisis. In this, the Order played
a vital role as a vehicle of communication between
the Protestant denominations and the Protestant
working, middle and aristocratic classes, especially
in Ulster.
The
best way the Order can mark this significant anniversary
within Unionism is to formally leave the UUC and
revamp the spiritual Qualifications of an Orangeman
– the oath of allegiance which Protestants
swear upon initiation in the Order. It states: “An
Orangeman should have a sincere love and veneration
for his Heavenly Father; an humble and steadfast
faith in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, believing
in Him to be the only Mediator between God and man.”
The
present Qualifications are theologically Salvationist
in ethos, but they need to be reinforced using the
New Testament teachings of Christ so the only way
Protestants could join the Order would be if they
were truly ‘born again Christians’. Practically,
Christ’s words as found in St John Chapter
3 and verse 16 – “For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.” (King James translation)
– need to be incorporated into the Qualifications
oath.
Such
a move, if implemented, would position the Order
as a springboard to trigger a ‘spiritual rebirth’
in Ireland not experienced since the famous Ulster
revival of 1859 when thousands of people become
‘born again believers’.
The
Order’s religious re-motivation would also
force it to re-think its relations with the Church
of Rome, especially with the growth of the evangelical
Catholic movement within Ireland. These are Salvationist
Catholics who view themselves as ‘born again
Christians’, but rather than leave Catholicism,
have chosen to remain in their churches and evangelise
from within.
Some
of the most high-profile of these produced a classic
Salvationist theological work – ‘Adventures
in Reconciliation’, the testimonies of 29 evangelical
Roman Catholics in Ireland.
Such Salvationists estimate between four and 12
per cent of the Catholic Church in Ireland is now
evangelical. This poses a major theological challenge
for Orangeism. The present Qualifications firmly
establish the Order’s opposition to the Catholic
Church: “ … he should strenuously oppose
the fatal errors and doctrines of the Church of
Rome, and scrupulously avoid countenancing (by his
presence or otherwise) any act or ceremony of Popish
worship; he should, by all lawful means, resists
the ascendancy of that Church, its encroachments,
and extension of its power …”
This
presents a real spiritual dilemma for an evangelically
motivated Order – how does it support fellow
‘born again brethren and sisters’ who
have chosen to remain as Salvationist Catholics
with the Roman Catholic Church? Again, the Qualifications
will have to be redrafted to allow Evangelical Orangeism
to work spiritually with Salvationist Catholicism.
