Religions in Scotland, Scottish Religions

Religions in Scotland

Scotland is a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It consists of a mainland and many small islands. It is home to one of the largest financial cities in Europe, Edinburgh, and attracts many different people from all over the world. With the influx of various cultures, came a sea of religions. Religion in Scotland is therefore extremely diverse and cannot be categorized under the umbrella of one faith.

Recent surveys of religion in Scotland have shown that the most dominant religion at present is Christianity, which includes all denominations of the faith, such as Roman Catholics and the Church of Scotland. As the name suggests, the Church of Scotland is the national church of the country but is not controlled by the state. The Church of Scotland also has a Presbyterian branch, which takes the form of the Free Church of Scotland. Surprisingly, even though religion has played significant roles in the history, turbulence and war of the country, approximately 28 per cent of the country has stated to have no religious ties at all.

Whilst being amongst the smallest population group in Scotland, the Muslim religion has shown up to be the second largest religion. This religious group in Scotland also boasts the youngest age group of followers, with many being younger than sixteen. Most Muslims in Scotland believe they originate from Pakistan. Hindus and Sikhs, by 82 per cent, believe that their origins are from India.

It is in the larger cities, such as Edinburgh and Glasgow, that you find the highest concentrations diverse religions, including Muslims, Hindus, Christians and Presbyterians. The Buddhist faith in Scotland does not bind itself to an individual ethnic group and is therefore the most varied religion. Judaism, Buddhism and Islam are religions that are growing strongly in Scotland, with the number of members increasing each year.

In the more rural areas of Scotland, religion takes on the form of Baptists, Methodists, Unitarians, Congregationalists and Catholicism. Catholicism is a form of religion that broke away from the Church of Scotland in 1843 and is traditional and unwavering in their beliefs. It is a harsher form of Presbyterianism and is only found in the Western Isles. It is a religion that is slowly reducing in numbers and is not viewed with approval by the Free Church of Scotland. Scotland is a country that has a colorful variety of religions, some which are fading back into history and some that are growing in strength and in numbers.

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