Protestants First

Protestant militantism in 19th-century Scotland manifested itself in the Orange Order, a large but shadowy organization which, despite considerable popular support, never realized its potential as a mass working-class movement. This is a non-partisan sociological study of the Orange Order which attempts to cut through some of the myths and explain why Orangeism developed along different lines in Scotland to elsewhere. The book describes Orangeism's formative period, relating it to Ulster Protestant migration. Orange ideology and organizational structure are looked at in detail with comparisons with the Order in England, Ireland and the Commonwealth. The movement's perceived "Irishness" and its disciplinary problems are examined, and the way the movement interacted with Scottish society and politics, particularly the Church and the Scottish Conservative Party. The book concludes with Orangeism's present role and its potential lines of development. The study is aimed at specialists and students in Scottish social, political and ecclesiastical history, sociologists of religion and historical sociologists.