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Defining
a future
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Protestantism
in the USA
I
often wondered why in the USA, with its
background in the Scots Irish, why we now
have very few Orange Lodges. From last
months edition you all will have noted that
the Orange Order was very strong until the
turn of the 20th Century. So what has
happened to the Order and why has it not
flourished. The point is asked on the basis
that the USA is still a Protestant Country.
Maybe
to start the discussion I began some
research on the basis of the religious
cultures in this great nation of ours. For
detailed statistics please look up this web
site:--
adherents.com/rel_USA.html#religions
My
research brought me to some very interesting
facts:
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As
of March 2002, 82% of the American
population declared themselves as
Christian
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As
of March 2002, of the 82% mentioned
above, 52 % of the American population
declared themselves as Protestant, 24%
as Catholic and 6 % of other minority
Christian religions.
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But
when it came down to the individual
numbers of religious organizations you
begin to find where the breakdown occurs
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Catholic
24%
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Baptist
20%
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Methodist
8%
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Lutheran
6%
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Presbyterian
4%
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Episcopalian
3%
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Pentecostal
3%
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Mormon
2%
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Others
6%
If
the news is sad for us Loyalist Protestants
it only gets worse. In terms of the
political situation if we vote based on our
individual religion, we Presbyterians are on
a looser. Check this out. The following are
a list of States whose dominant religion is
Catholic. (taking into account item 3 above)
For example in the State of Missouri the
dominant Protestant religion is Baptist but
it does not outweigh the members of the
Catholic Church. Though the Protestant
religion outweighs the Catholic Religion by
20%
Rhode
Island (63%), Massachusetts, Connecticut,
New Jersey, New York, Louisiana, Wisconsin,
Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Minnesota, Michigan,
California, Maine, Nebraska, Texas, Hawaii,
South Dakota, Ohio, Iowa, Arizona, Delaware,
Maryland, Montana, Missouri, Kansas,
Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, Indiana, Florida,
Washington, Oregon, Alaska.
Interesting
facts are they not?
So
no doubt the statistics have got you all
thinking. Although America is a Protestant
Country not one of the Protestant Faith’s
are united. They do their own thing, worship
in their own way and often do not agree with
each other. The saving grace in all of the
above is that all the Protestant Churches
are united against the Church of Rome.
Maybe
the discussion should be if we are so united
against the Church of Rome what do we need
to do to bring us together to ensure the
freedom of speech that we live for in this
country, continues for our future
generations.
It
might be that we have a limited say in the
future of religion in this great country.
But as in the past, in Ulster, when the
Orange Order began to bring the rights of
working class and our faith together in a
cause, and no matter what Protestant faith
they belonged to, the time is right for us
to do the same.
The
Order has never differentiated amongst
Protestant Faiths. Just maybe, just maybe if
we spread the word, and dare I say it the
gospel, we can find a way to influence this
great society for the better good.
$5
million donated to the Sinn Fein last year
from USA Fundraisers. No, let it be known
the money does not only go to the Sinn Fein
but to guns to continue the struggle against
our freedom. From this our great country,
indeed a sad state of affairs.
Surely
it is time to bring the 52% of the American
population together. We can do that by
spreading the word that we as Protestants of
all sects and races will not be put down by
terrorists in this country or others.
I
can’t say that this article defines a
future but it sets a challenge. It is up to
each one of us to define our own future. And
one day we or our children will have to
stand up to be counted. Maybe the time is
right for us right now.
United
We Stand we do, but not unless we act.
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Militant
Christianity?
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Which
of the world's largest faiths, Christianity
or Islamic, is experiencing the greater
ideological reassertion. Almost everyone
answers ' Islam '. While North
American Christians experiment with ever
milder versions of their faith, Muslims
display a fervor for such extreme
interpretations of Islam. As Europe suffers
from the lowest population growth rates ever
recorded, Muslim nations have some of the
highest ever.
Philip
Jenkins, a writer for the Atlantic Monthly
and a Professor of history and religious
studies at Pennsylvania State University,
argues that Islam is the wrong answer. He
shows how Christianity is the religion
currently undergoing the most basic
rethinking and the largest increase in
adherents. He makes a good case for its
militancy most affecting the next century.
Prof.
Jenkins notes " For obvious reasons,
news reports of the day are filled with
material about the influence of a resurgent
and often angry Islam. In its variety and
vitality, in its Global reach, in its
association with the World's fastest growing
societies, in its shifting centers of
gravity, in the way its values and practices
vary from place to place, in these and other
ways it is Christianity that will leave the
deepest mark on the 21st. century."
What
Jenkins dubs ' The Christian Revolution ' is
so little noted because Christians divide
into two very different regions, North
(North America, Europe, Australia) South
(South America, Africa, Asia) and we who
live in the North only dimly perceive the
momentous developments underway in the
South. This is how Professor Jenkins
explains........
FAITH:
The changes in the South " run utterly
contrary " to those of the Liberalising
North, where religious beliefs and practices
are evermore removed from traditional
Christianity. In the South, Protestant
movements are mainly Evangelical or
Pentecostal, while Roman Catholicism takes
an orthodox cast. By Northern lights, the
South's theology and moral teachings are
"stalwartly traditional or even
reactionary ," what with their respect
for the power of priests, their
notions
of spiritual charisma, their aspiration to
direct spiritual revelation, their efforts
to exorcise demonic forces and their goal of
re-enacting a version of early Christianity.
As " Southern Christians are reading
the New Testament and taking it very
seriously," increasing tensions then
develop with the liberal Northerners.
DEMOGRAPHICS:
" Christians are facing a shrinking
population in the liberal West and a growing
majority of the traditional Rest. During the
last half-century the critical centers of
the Christian world have moved decisively to
Africa, to Latin America and to Asia. The
balance
will
never shift back." The numbers are jaw-
dropping : Nigeria already has more
practicing Anglicans than any other country,
with Uganda not far behind. The Philippines
has more baptisms per year than France,
Spain, Italy and Poland combined. By 2025,
two thirds of all Christians (and three
quarters of all Catholics) are expected to
live in the South. These numbers actually
underestimate the contrast in growth rates,
for many Southern Christians are relocating
to the North. In London today, for example,
half of all churchgoers are blacks. If
present trends continue, by 2050 the
proportion of non-Latino whites among the
world's Christians will fall to about one in
five.
Of
course, the chasm between North and South is
not complete (a fact Jenkins doesn't touch
on) ; the United States, for example,
contains substantial numbers of Christians
is faring at least as well among them. This
said.....the trends are clear:
...Although
Islam may appear to be the faith of choice
for the world's poor, Christianity is faring
at least as well among them.
...Christianity
is no longer a predominantly European or
North American faith.
The
experiment and decline that pervades
Northern Christianity is less important than
it appears. The concept of Christendom may
re-emerge in the South, where political,
social and personal identities are being
primarily defined by religious loyalties.
" An enormous rift, seems
inevitable
" between North and South, possibly
leading to a split in the Christian church,
similar to what happened centuries ago
between the Catholic Church and the
Protestant Movements.
Christianity
and Islam are on a collision course,
competing for converts and influence. Some
countries " might be brought to ruin by
the clash of jihad and Crusade." To
understand the future of Christianity, then,
keep your eye on those Southern believers
who reject the North's liberal outlook and
who dominate the faith.
NO
SURRENDER ...YOURS IN THE FAITH ...JIM137
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Scotchirish.net
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Scotchirish.net
is one of the best Loyalist websites to come
out of the US in recent years. It is an
emerging website with almost everything for
those interested in Ulster-Scots people and
culture. Don't take our word for it,
have a look...
http://www.scotchirish.net
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| To
America |
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Remember
me.
My sculptured glens where crystal rivers
run,
My purple mountains misty in the sun
My coastlines little changed since time
begun,
I gave you birth.
I
watched you go.
You saw me fade into the distant sky
You sailed away from me with tear filled
eye,
You said you'd ne'er forget though years
passed by,
But time rolled on.
Your
young land grew.
And new sons fought to keep their country
fair,
And at the Alamo and Shiloh they were there,
And with pride they filled the Presidential
chair,
My Ulstermen.
Remember
me.
Though battle-scarred and weary I abide
Though Americans their heritage denied,
When you speak of history say my name with
pride,
I
AM ULSTER.
Deirdre
Speer
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| Scottish
Rednecks and Hillbillies |
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 By
Todd Wilkinson
Many
words commonly used in America today have
their origins in our Celtic roots. While the
following three terms are associated today
with the American South and southern
culture, their origins are distinctly
Scottish and Ulster-Scottish (Scots-Irish),
and date to the mass immigration of Scottish
Lowland and Ulster Presbyterians to America
during the 1700’s.
REDNECK
The
origins of this term are Scottish and refer
to supporters of the National Covenant and
The Solemn League Covenant, or
"Covenanters", largely Lowland
Presbyterians. The Covenanters of 1638 and
1641 signed the documents which stated that
Scotland desired the Presbyterian form of
church government and would not accept the
Church of England as its official state
church. Many Covenanters signed in their own
blood and wore red pieces of cloth around
their necks as distinctive insignia; hence
the term "Red neck", which became
slang for a Scottish dissenter. Since many
Ulster-Scottish settlers in America
(especially the South) were Presbyterian,
the term was applied to them, and then,
later, their Southern descendants. One of
the earliest examples of its use comes from
1830, when an author noted that
"red-neck" was " a "name
bestowed upon the Presbyterians." It
makes you wonder if the originators of the
ever-present "redneck" joke are
aware of the term’s origins?
HILLBILLY
 The
origin of this American nickname for
mountain folk in the Ozarks and in
Appalachia comes from Ulster (Northern
Ireland). Ulster-Scottish settlers in the
hill-country of Appalachia brought their
traditional music with them to the new
world, and many of their songs and ballads
dealt with William, Prince of Orange, who
defeated the Catholic King James II of the
Stuart family at the Battle of the Boyne,
Ireland in 1690. Supporters of King William
were known as "Billy Boys" and
their North American counterparts were soon
referred to as "hill-billies". It
is interesting to note that a traditional
song of the Glasgow Rangers football club
today begins with the line, "Hurrah!
Hurrah! We are the Billy Boys!" and
shares its tune with the famous American
Civil War song, "Marching Through
Georgia".
CRACKER
 Another
Ulster-Scot term, a "cracker" was
a person who talked and boasted, and
"crack" is a term still used in
Scotland and Ireland to describe
"talking", chat or conversation in
a social sense (‘Let’s go down to the
pub and have a crack."). The term,
first used to describe a southerner of
Ulster-Scottish background, later became a
nickname for any white southerner,
especially those who were uneducated.
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When
the principles that run against your deepest
convictions begin to win the day, then the
battle is your calling, and peace has become
sin. You must at the price of dearest
peace lay your convictions bare before
friend and enemy with all the fire of your
faith.
Abraham Kuyper, 1837
- 1920
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Editorial
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Born
in Judea, Christianity spread
swiftly across Asia Minor, North
Africa and on to Rome, where it
was persecuted for 300 years.
Then, for the three centuries
after Constantine, through riven
heresies, Christianity became the
faith of the Roman Empire.
With
the death of Muhammad in 632,
however, a fighting new faith
arose. In a century, Islam had
seized Arabia, captured the Holy
Land, swept over Africa and
captured Spain. The armies of
Saracens were only stopped at
Tours in France in 732 in one of
the biggest decisive battles in
history. Europe was saved for
Christianity as Islam retreated
back over the mountains into
Spain, where it retained a
Foothold until Queen Isabella
drove the Moors out, in the same
year she sent an Italian navigator
named Columbus, to find a new
route to the Indies.
In
1492 all Western Europe was
Christian and responsive to Rome.
With the 1500's came Luther,
Calvin, Henry the VIII and the
Reformation, the sundering of
Christiandom into a Protestant
North and Catholic South. This
same division prevailed in the New
World, Protestant England
colonised the east coast of North
America, as Catholic Spain
colonised most of South America.
Yet Christians all professed the
same God and believed in the same
Saviour.
"I
am the Lord thy God, thou shalt
not have strange gods before
me," God said unto Moses.
Since the Reformation in the West,
that God has given way to one
strange god after another...The
King, the state, the nation, the
race and finally, the self.
In
the West, the God of
Protestantism has been superseded
by the gods of modernity : money,
fame, power. These gods give a
good life, but they cannot sustain
life.
As
Protestantism is a dying faith in
almost every Western nation, not
many has a native population that
is reproducing itself.
The
nations that comprise the
Protestant Faith are in a perverse
contest to see which can quickly
reject its Protestant heritage and
adopt one or another of the
various forms of Humanism as its
creed.
The
UK and the American people are not
the only ones dragging Loyalism
and Protestantism into oblivion.
This is the only international
contest wherein Canada has secured
a quasi leadership role. I firmly
believe, that if we, as
Protestants, do not stand united,
in three or four more generations,
and likely less than that,
Loyalism and Protestantism, as we
know it, will cease to exist.
Forever
yours in the faith.
GOD
SAVE THE QUEEN
Jim137
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The
Woodstock Riots
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July
12,1847
"The
Orange Order has been part of the
life of New Brunswick since the
late eighteenth century.
The
earliest record of an Orange lodge
in the British North American
colonies was in Parrtown (St.
John) in 1783. This lodge met
under charter issued in London ,
England in 1694. The name on the
charter was `Colonial Patent
N0.6,` and it was brought to New
Brunswick by Lieutenant Andrew
Stockton. This lodge met in
St.John until 1815 under this
warrants authority which granted
the bearer the right to hold an
Orange Lodge meeting anywhere in
British America. The first
`official` Orange lodge to meet in
the Maritimes (the four Atlantic
provinces) met in the city of
St.John in 1818, under a warrant
brought from Ireland by soldiers
serving in the 74th Regiment.
Another Orange lodge met in the
same city in 1824 , again formed
by British soldiers stationed
there.
The
events which were to take place in
St.John , New Brunswick , on July
12, 1849 , should not have come as
any great surprise to anyone.
There had been warnings over the
preceding dozen years that it was
only a matter of time before
violence erupted on a large scale
between Orangemen and Irish Roman
Catholics. There had been several
clashes between the two opposing
forces in St.John on July 12 , and
as early as 1837 both sides had
clashed. There were further
confrontations throughout out the
1840`s and there had been other
serious outbreaks of violence in
Fredericton and Portland in 1846 -
1847. The major battle between the
two sides which served as a
warning that the pattern of
violence was escalating took place
in Woodstock in 1847.
That
year saw the Orangemen prepare for
a July 12 parade and invite
members from outside their county
to participate. Irish Roman
Catholics then decided to hold
their own demonstration on that
day and also invited outsiders to
join in. Both sides came into town
openly bearing arms and seemed
more prepared for a battle than a
parade. On the morning of July 12
the Orangemen left their lodge
hall at 10:00am. and formed up to
march to the Baptist Church in
nearby Jacksontown. They thought
that by taking this route try
would avoid any confrontation with
the Roman Catholics - they seem to
have forgotten that it takes two
sides to avoid trouble.
Three
hundred marchers , many of them
armed with muskets , set out for
the three mile walk to Jacksontown
, closely watched by the Roman
Catholic crowd , which by this
time numbered two hundred.
With the Orangemen out of
Woodstock , the Roman Catholics
staged their own parade , marching
through the town gathering numbers
as they went. They then waited
beside the road into the town
to wait on the Orangemen
returning. This was a deliberate
challenge and it was obvious there
was going to be trouble. The local
sheriff , Winslow , brought
sixteen British soldiers with him
to try and prevent trouble. Five
magistrates then informed the
crowd that it was illegal to carry
firearms in public. The Roman
Catholics quickly pointed out that
the Orangemen were also armed. The
magistrates the said that they
would also prohibit them from
bringing their guns into town on
their return march.
They
then went and told the Orange
leaders the same thing and they
agreed to Co-operate on the
following terms. They would not
march back to Woodstock , but
would walk back in single file.
They
agreed not to carry their arms ,
but they would place them in a
wagon at the rear of the marchers.
With this agreement the parade
started on its way home thinking
that there would be no trouble.
Unknown to Sheriff Winslow and the
magistrates, the Roman Catholics
had broken their word and were now
openly disregarding the previous
agreement. They had marched to the
edge of the town and positioned
themselves along the road waiting
to attack the returning Orangemen.
The
magistrates returned to Woodstock
and read the Riot Act to the Irish
Roman Catholics and gave them one
hour to disperse. The British
troops meanwhile , stationed
themselves on the road between the
Roman Catholics and the direction
the Orangemen would come. They
intercepted them and ordered the
magistrates to order them to
disperse and confiscate their
arms. The Riot Act was then
read to them also , but neither
side was in any mood for a
compromise on that day. The
Orangemen refused to disband and
disarm themselves fearing they
would be murdered one by one by
the armed Roman Catholics lining
the road just a few hundred yards
ahead. They continued their parade
until they were in direct
confrontation with the Irish Roman
Catholics. The British troops,
under the command of lieutenant
Wickham stayed at the side of the
road behind the Orangemen. When
the Orangemen had almost reached
their lodge hall they were fired
upon by the crowd that had been
shadowing them all of the way into
Woodstock. The Orangemen quickly
armed themselves and charged the
Irish lining the roadway. When
they saw the Orangemen charging
toward them instead of running
away as they had expected , the
Irish quickly broke ranks and ran
in all directions.
Orangemen
on horseback chased them through
the fields , bayoneting some of
them and capturing over twenty of
them. The Irish Roman Catholics
had suffered a disastrous defeat
and they were to pay heavily for
their treachery. They had stood on
a hill overlooking the road and
fired on the Orangemen who at the
time were unarmed and walking in
single file , and yet had lost the
battle. In the weeks following the
riot , scores of Irish were
arrested , with many more escaping
to the United States.
Many
Orangemen were issued with
government arms and were prominent
among the local special
constabulary that was appointed
during the time leading up to the
trial. Throughout the summer a
campaign of terrorism was aimed at
Protestant homes in the area.
Known Orangemen were shot at and
homes and barns were burned. The
actual death toll at Woodstock was
never accurately arrived at by
officials. Most of those killed
during the riot were quietly
buried and their deaths never
reported , however government
officials surmised that the number
of combatants killed could have
been as many as ten.
On
September 08,1847, eighty-eight
Irish Roman Catholics were charged
with a variety of offences. They
all pleaded not guilty and on
September 20, after laying a
further fifty-one charges against the
Irish , Judge Parker postponed the
trial until January 1848. The
trial however did not resume until
June 29 , because in the meantime
Attorney General Peters had died.
Over half of the Irish never showed
up for trial. They had been
released on their own recognisance
and had proceeded to move out of
the county. Of those that stood
trial there were sixty-three
convictions , ranging in length of sentence
from one month in the county jail
to one year in the provincial
penitentiary. No Orangeman was
ever charged or convicted of any
offence connected with the
Woodstock riot. This riot was to
set the pattern for the disastrous
events which were to occur just
two years later at York
Point."
written
by Alex Rough Ontario CANADA
I
found this article while
researching Orangeism in North
America. We can all draw our own
conclusions to this piece of
history. But maybe we should ask
ourselves a number of important
questions.
-
Why
has Orangeism not succeeded to
maintain a strong force in
North America?
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Is
there a lesson to be learned
for Scotland and for Ulster
from these historical
accounts?
If
we read the history and learn from
accounts such as these, how will
we find a way to unite again to
influence the nations we live in?
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