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Information collected as part of the 2001 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey has enabled researchers at the University of Aberdeen to examine the importance or otherwise of religion in Scotland today. 

They have been able to analyse the relationship between religious background, religious identity and political affiliations, voting behaviour, national identity, perceptions and experiences of discrimination, socio-economic status and education, and intermarriage and moral values

The three key issues they shed light on are sectarianism, and the importance of religious and ethnic identity in modern Scotland; conventional religion, and just how popular membership of a church is, and with whom; and general spirituality, or to what extent people outside the major religions are 'spiritual'. 

Key findings

The Religious Divide?

• Scotland is no longer deeply divided along sectarian lines. Social reasons for division in Scottish society have been progressively weakening since the Second World War.
• Age is a key factor. Differences which can still be found in how people live and their attitudes are strongest among the oldest people surveyed and weakest among the youngest.  

Church Decline?

• The results of the study also point to a secular society, with the national church and other religions in decline, although the onset of that decline appears to have begun later for some religious groupings. 
• Those who still go to church are much more likely to be older, women and from the middle classes. And the beginnings of this decline have been found to be before the I960s, the point in history identified in previous research. 
• There continues to be considerable sympathy for the idea of religion among Scots but it would also seem that, for many, religion has lost its important role as a moral guide. And it does not appear that new forms of spiritual belief have taken the place of conventional religion. 
• Nonetheless, there is evidence that a small but distinctive minority continue to believe when they no longer belong to a conventional organised religion, although this group only accounts for about one-in-10 of Scots. 
  

The New Age?

• Although the information gathered suggests to some that interest in New Age practices is relatively widespread in Scotland, at present, active participation or commitment is largely confined to a minority of Scots. Without much exaggeration, the typical person seriously interested in yoga or alternative medicine is a university-educated woman under age 55, and more likely middle-aged.
• Whilst those who offer New Age activities such as aromatherapy or Shiatsu massage may see them as spiritual, it appears that most consumers do not. Instead, they see them more in ‘this-worldly’ terms, as a means to improved well-being. This ties in with other on-going research in Britain. Interesting comparisons can be drawn with the extensive Kendal Project and its findings on patterns of the sacred in today’s society.  

About the study

The research was led by Professor Steve Bruce, head of the School of Social Sciences,  University of Aberdeen. Information was gathered from some 1,600 Scots, interviewed in their homes as part of the 2001 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey.

Key words 

Religion, Scotland, spirituality, sectarianism.

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