Gladys Ganiel (QUB)
Irish Studies Seminar Room, 27 University Square 01/003, Belfast, BT71NN
Monday 16th November 2026 4:30PM
Christianity and Peacebuilding in Northern Ireland: Book Launch & Discussion
Christianity and Peacebuilding in Northern Ireland by Gladys Ganiel provides a comprehensive overview of Christian peacebuilding in Northern Ireland. It examines evangelicalism and religious nationalism, including the career of preacher-politician Rev. Ian Paisley, as well as themes of forgiveness and reconciliation. It draws out key lessons from the Northern Ireland experience, highlighting how the region has influenced broader thinking on religious peacebuilding. The book also highlights overlooked perspectives and challenges, including women’s roles and the churches’ struggle to mainstream peacebuilding.
Discussants:
Gladys Ganiel is Professor in the Sociology of Religion at Queen’s University Belfast and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. She is author of seven books and is co-editor, with Andrew J. Holmes, of The Oxford Handbook of Religion in Modern Ireland (2024). An Island of Faith? Religions and Change in Ireland, North and South (with Caoimhe Ní Dhónaill) is forthcoming from Oxford University Press (2027).
Rev Dr Karen Campbell is an ordained minister with the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and the General Secretary of the Irish Council of Churches and Irish Inter Church Meeting. Her doctoral work focused on the virtue of intellectual humility within multicultural worship communities. Most recently, along with her husband David, she completed the launch of a suite of lament Psalms called 'Considering Lament: Psalms of protest pain and hope', the follow on project from Gladys Ganiel's and Jamie Youhannis's book 'Considering Grace: Presbyterians and the Troubles' (2019). These psalms can be found here: https://presbyterianireland.org/worship/considering-lament. Her most recent article on the troubles is 'The opposite of Lament is not praise: it is dishonesty' in Yale's Institute of Sacred Music's The Review Vol. 7.1 2026
A drinks reception will follow this event. Supported by Queen's Institute for Peace, Security and Justice.
Christianity and Peacebuilding in Northern Ireland by Gladys Ganiel provides a comprehensive overview of Christian peacebuilding in Northern Ireland. It examines evangelicalism and religious nationalism, including the career of preacher-politician Rev. Ian Paisley, as well as themes of forgiveness and reconciliation. It draws out key lessons from the Northern Ireland experience, highlighting how the region has influenced broader thinking on religious peacebuilding. The book also highlights overlooked perspectives and challenges, including women’s roles and the churches’ struggle to mainstream peacebuilding.
Discussants:
Gladys Ganiel is Professor in the Sociology of Religion at Queen’s University Belfast and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. She is author of seven books and is co-editor, with Andrew J. Holmes, of The Oxford Handbook of Religion in Modern Ireland (2024). An Island of Faith? Religions and Change in Ireland, North and South (with Caoimhe Ní Dhónaill) is forthcoming from Oxford University Press (2027).
Rev Dr Karen Campbell is an ordained minister with the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and the General Secretary of the Irish Council of Churches and Irish Inter Church Meeting. Her doctoral work focused on the virtue of intellectual humility within multicultural worship communities. Most recently, along with her husband David, she completed the launch of a suite of lament Psalms called 'Considering Lament: Psalms of protest pain and hope', the follow on project from Gladys Ganiel's and Jamie Youhannis's book 'Considering Grace: Presbyterians and the Troubles' (2019). These psalms can be found here: https://presbyterianireland.org/worship/considering-lament. Her most recent article on the troubles is 'The opposite of Lament is not praise: it is dishonesty' in Yale's Institute of Sacred Music's The Review Vol. 7.1 2026
A drinks reception will follow this event. Supported by Queen's Institute for Peace, Security and Justice.
Event Details
Starts at 4:30PM
