Andrew Cunning

An Open Letter to the Young Men of NI…

Andrew Cunning on June 29, 2026, 5:26 pm

| Readers 1604

row of four men sitting on mountain trail

Much has been made of the phrase toxic masculinity in recent years. Examples abound in the news, the streets, behind closed doors. In Northern Ireland, at the time of writing, two Spotlight episodes in the last few weeks alone have focused on sexual abuse and safeguarding failures in major Protestant denominations in Ireland, and the most recent edition was about Jeffrey Donaldson, a rapist and child sexual offender at the very top of politics. I participated in a discussion on …

The Religious Extremists Trying to Destroy Western Civilisation…

Andrew Cunning on April 11, 2026, 8:42 am

| Readers 2362

a person reaching up to a cross on a hill

There is a death cult running America, one that claims to believe in eternal life. I remember laughing as Donald Trump, on his first go round, claiming the Bible was his favourite book, so much his favourite in fact, that he couldn’t pick out a single verse for discission. ‘The Bible means a lot to me,’ he said, with a presumably full heart, ‘but I don’t want to get into specifics.’ Back then, in the now Edenic early days of …

Save Ulster from Theology…

Andrew Cunning on July 29, 2023, 4:09 pm

| Readers 6903

a large room with a table and chairs in it

I wonder how many dead teenagers would be enough. Would it take more than one? Five? What about a few dozen? The Bible is clear, it’s one man, one woman. My theology prevents me from calling them by what they want to be called. It’s all woke nonsense these days. I’m talking here about the culture of shame incubated, perpetuated and weaponised by our mainstream churches here in Northern Ireland. For many ministers, youth pastors, volunteers, elders and senior members, …

What has changed that the PSNI are nervous to be seen at an event they supported in the past?

Andrew Cunning on July 18, 2023, 11:00 am

| Readers 2357

The recent statement from Assistant Chief Constable Bobby Singleton on the PSNI Executive Team’s decision to prevent its officers from walking in uniform during Belfast Pride, leaves some unanswered questions. The fact we can guess the answers to these questions does not mean they should not still be asked. Firstly, he makes the point that there are “clear expectations for all officers and staff in terms of our impartiality and prohibit officers from wearing their uniform or being identifiable as …

This Place is Absurd

Andrew Cunning on February 14, 2023, 7:00 am

| Readers 4654

Inflation is through the roof; the economy is scarcely recovering from what happens to an economy when a right-winger actually does something; and governments are paying people just to be able to heat their homes. But it’s the gender of God we really need to be focusing on. Oh, and the theology of women ministers. Northern Ireland is an absurd place. That alone makes it a great location for a writer or a creative to work. Constant inspiration: the commingling …

The Underneath: New Podcast Series Digs Deep into Evangelicalism in Northern Ireland…

Andrew Cunning on May 1, 2022, 7:27 am

| Readers 3111

‘People who like Billy Graham.’ That’s how one academic jokingly defined the term ‘evangelical’ to me in a recent conversation for The Underneath podcast. And, having spent the past year carrying out interviews with a huge range of people in religious Northern Ireland, this light-hearted definition may well be the most accurate one I’ve come across. From Edwin Poots’ views on the age of the earth, to the multi-million-pound new church builds in Ballymena, to the four hundred thousand Northern …