Religion and Scotland

Kaitlin Dryburgh

The most recent census results now show that the majority of people in Scotland follow no religion. In 2011 this stood at 36.7%, so it is a rather stark increase that the country now stands at 51%. This is the first time in Scottish census history secular beliefs have out-weighed religious, could this now spur on a change in other areas?

The major change is mostly associated with the Church of Scotland, the numbers slumped from 32% of the population to 20%. That’s a rather significant decrease in a mere 11 years. However, those who identified as Roman Catholic only decreased a mere 2% in the same time. Only Hindu, Sikh and Muslim seemed to increase but none increased over 1%. By all accounts religion has decreased through-out Scotland as a whole. Furthermore, the assumption that it is predominantly the younger generations that have been turning their backs to religion has been dis-proven since all age groups have had significant increases in secular beliefs.

However, some regions tell a slightly different story. Both Inverclyde and Na h-Eileanan Siar has the Church of Scotland has their highest subscribed belief system rather than no religion.

This news isn’t exactly a surprise since the decline in people attending church has been going on for some time. Scotland’s 'church problem' has meant we’ve got more churches than people to fill them. Our long history has meant as a country we’ve accumulated a fairly substantial number of churches spreading to all corners and communities of Scotland. Their architectural and historic significance is something to marvel at, but what do we do now? Many of Scotland churches are falling into disrepair due to increasing bills and an insufficient amount of people to help fund their repair. Even though this problem persists now, it is estimated that around 400 churches will be put up for sale by the Church of Scotland by 2025. And that doesn’t even account for other faith organisations.

It’s a problem in many respects but also an amazing opportunity. Think of all the things that a church could potentially be transformed into. I’m sure we all have an idea of what we would choose to do. For some communities the sale of a church allows them the collective opportunity to repurpose it as an all-round space for the community. In some cases they’ve been repurposed as flats, however this is usually undertaken by a private property developer. However, since we have a problem with too many churches in the midst of a housing emergency there is potentially an opportunity there. Retro-fitting a church is no easy task, however with building standards of long-ago they were built to last and with the help of retrofitting an older church could become energy efficient. But maybe that’s just what I would like to see happen. Common Weal has also proposed converting them into care hubs for the our national care service, which also present a perfect opportunity due to their usual central location.

What could be done opens up countless possibilities. Kilmarnock is often used as an example of what can be achieved ever since a former church there was converted into a rock-climbing centre. A service that benefits the community, however worked with the current architecture to create an impressive climbing centre with a stain-glass window as the focal point. This is perhaps something that the Government and local councils could pay more attention to, however with current unstable local budgets the true benefits of this might not be seen.

Currently we are forging a path as a nation which identifies more with no religion, this may mean we have to shake up some of our institutions. We have a deep-rooted foundation with religion and that shows in many of our legislative frameworks and public bodies.

As it stands many churches sit on educational council committees and a majority of our state schools promote some sort of religious observance, as stated by Scottish Education Act 1980. Technically a school cannot take it upon themselves to stop observing religion- whichever that may be- to do so would be unlawful. However, parents can choose to have their child opt out of religious practices. Noticeably the child themselves can’t, which considering current debates surrounding other topics of late it speaks volumes that we don’t trust a child to decide their own religion however they can make some rather life-altering decisions. This decision has been legally challenged, however the government insisted that children were unable to opt out themselves. In fact the United Nations even submitted a report that the Scottish government scrap the guidelines, arguing that compulsory attendance at religious worship is breaching human rights. It begs the question how they’ll look to refuse now when the majority of adults don’t identify as religious. 

This requirement of children subsequently meant that every local authority education committee had to leave three seats for local religious representatives, these of course being unelected. Some councils have more recently opted to remove those rights such as, Edinburgh, the Highlands and Fife. However, legislative influence still remains, and perhaps the infrastructure of our state schools still mirror our historic roots with religion. Times are changing and there should be a concerted effort from our institutions to keep-up.

Yet trying to find the appropriate balance is a sensitive act. Just because the majority of adults in Scotland aren’t practicing a religion doesn’t mean that we don’t need to accommodate for those who are. Kate Forbes previous run for leader proved a bit of social experiment. Admittedly many of her religious views were seen as extreme, yet others were just not too sure how to approach an openly religious politician. Kate herself believes there is a complete illiteracy towards people who have religious beliefs, especially in positions of power. She’s had many people confide in her that they themselves or their children struggle to be as open with their beliefs without repercussions. That’s something that we may have to address. As our religious affiliations change, both personally and institutionally we must approach with the same openness as any other difference from the majority.