What religions do people practice in Scotland?

[aragon017]

I'm doing a report on Scotland and need to know what religions there are in Scotland.

[ANDY-J]

aragon017,
As in most western countries society is becoming increasingly secular and religion is becoming less important.The majority of the population are Protestant and mainly belong to the Presbyterian church of Scotland although there are Episcopalians and various other protestant denominations.Around a quarter of the population are Roman Catholic and there are also minority communities of Hindus,Sikhs and Muslims.

[Hirta]

As part of your report on religion in Scotland looking at old firm games (catholic Celtic versus protestant Rangers)would be a good start because it is the clearest example of sectarianism and protestant-catholic hostilities you will find in popular Scottish culture. Here's an article at:

http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/l.../feature1a.htm

and there are lots more out there. Good luck!

[ANDY-J]

Hirta,
It's unfortunate that you have chosen to highlight this issue.Sectarianism is a minor problem in this country.Catholics and Protestants in Scotland generally live and work together without any problems and tolerate each others differing beliefs.There is an unwritten rule in this country that overt displays of sectarianism are generally avoided except by a mindless minority and usually there is no more than good natured banter between catholics and protestants.You aren't Scottish and as far as I'm aware you don't live in this country so with respect you are not aware of the full facts regarding this issue.Sectarianism does exist but thankfully it is on a minor scale and it is wrong to convey the impression to someone from another country that this is a major problem in Scotland.

[J-J]

Firstly it is ok to ask about this,Hirta.This Forum is not a Scottish Tourism brochure!(At least I don't think it is...)
The sectarian problem in Scotland seems to be contained mostly within the context of Football,and most of that consists of name-calling and cursing rather than actual violence these days.So it is a problem,but I think the 'glory days' of Scottish sectarianism are past,and it is on the wane now.To finish it off completely,we should abolish all publicly funded,state supported faith based schools.Unfortunately Mr Blair, who gets more like Ned Flanders every day IMO,has other ideas about that.

[Hirta]

Originally posted by ANDY-J
Hirta,
It's unfortunate that you have chosen to highlight this issue.Sectarianism is a minor problem in this country.Catholics and Protestants in Scotland generally live and work together without any problems and tolerate each others differing beliefs.There is an unwritten rule in this country that overt displays of sectarianism are generally avoided except by a mindless minority and usually there is no more than good natured banter between catholics and protestants.You aren't Scottish and as far as I'm aware you don't live in this country so with respect you are not aware of the full facts regarding this issue.Sectarianism does exist but thankfully it is on a minor scale and it is wrong to convey the impression to someone from another country that this is a major problem in Scotland.

Sorry to have rattled your cage! It wasn't my intention to convey the idea that 'this is a major problem in Scotland', just that it does exist to a certain degree. I've been to a Rangers game at Ibrox and outside there were lots of vendors selling (mostly) loyalist material relating to Northern Ireland such as badges, flags commemorating the Battle of the Boyne, and so on. As the initialiser of this thread was asking about religion in Scotland I thought this was a relevent point. And as J-J says, football is just about the only major part of Scottish culture where this is displayed, hence my earlier link.

[ANDY-J]

The extent of sectarian conflict in this country is often exagerated and I was attempting to put it in it's proper perspective.Certainly this site isn't an advertisement for the Scottish tourist board but I don't see why a negative image of Scotland should be conveyed to visitors by half truths.The problem exists but it's importance should not be over emphasised.