Religion in Scotland

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Religion in Scotland
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The Background...

• One of the constituent countries making up the
  United Kingdom.
• Joined with England in 1707 to become Great
  Britain.
• This caused religious tensions between differing
  branches of the Church.
• 5 million people live in Scotland
• 60 million people live in the United Kingdom
• There are 6 different notable religions

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Location
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• We are from here

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The Different Faiths

• CHRISTIANITY
• Protestantism - 2.5 million 50
• Catholicism 1.1 million 22
• ISLAM 42 thousand 0.8
• JUDAISM 6 thousand 0.1
• BUDDHISM 6 thousand 0.1
• HINDUISM 6 thousand 0.1
• SIKHISM 6 thousand 0.1
• No Religion 1.4 million
  26.8

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Christianity - Catholicism

• Catholicism probably came to Scotland around the
  second century, and was firmly established by the
  sixth and seventh centuries. However, until the
  eleventh century, the relationship between the
  Church in Scotland and the Papacy is unclear. The
  Scottish Celtic Church had marked differences
  from the rest of Western Europe. However, it was
  the reforms of the eleventh century that the
  Scottish Church became an integral part of the
  Catholic communion.
• That remained the picture until the Scottish
  Reformation in the early sixteen century, when
  the Church in Scotland broke with the papacy
  Currently the senior bishop in Scotland is
  Cardinal Keith OBrien, Archbishop of St Andrews
  and Edinburgh

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The Celtic Cross
The symbol of Celtic Christianity
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Island of Iona

• Iona is an important place in the history of
  Christianity in Scotland. In 563 St Columba
  arrived from Ireland and it is from Iona he set
  about converting the pagan people of Scotland and
  much of northern England to Christianity.

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The Reformation

• The Reformation, led by John Knox, was Scotlands
  break with the Papacy in Rome. It was encouraged
  by the opinion of many Scots that the Papacy was
  corrupt, as only those who gave substantial
  fianancial contributions were elevated into high
  positions in the Church. This led to the
  predominance of Protestantism in Scotland and
  what was to become Great Britain. It also
  resulted in Scotland becoming one of the first
  countries to have education provided for all.

John Knox
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Sectarianism

• Between the Protestant communites and Catholic
  communities, mainly in Glasgow, there has been
  friction for hundreds of years. This sectarianism
  started when huge numers of Irish Catholics
  flocked to Scotland to work during the Industrial
  Revolution and has been fueled by the rivalry of
  Glasgow football teams Rangers (Protestant) and
  Celtic (Catholic). It is now a crime to sing
  Sectarian songs and in recent years this has been
  greatly reduced and there are hopes that
  sectarianism will become less and less of a
  problem. This has also occured in Northern
  Ireland where the tensions are also decreasing
  rapidly due to the peace process that has been
  occuring for the last few years.

Orange Order Protestant March
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Christianity - Protestants

• Protestantism had its roots in the Reformation.
  It is the main branch of Christianity in Scotland
  and over 50 of the population state it as their
  own religion, compared to the 22 of Catholics.
  The Church of Scotland is the main church
  usually there are two or three in every town as
  well as a number of other branches of church
  including the Baptists, Methodists and Anglicans.
  Special Communions are celebrated on Christmas
  Day, Easter Sunday and various other times
  throughout the year

A Protestant Church in Ardrossan
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Glasgow Cathedral
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St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh
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Our Local Parish Church
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Inside the typical church...
An organist who plays the music for hymns
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The Minister
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Carvings on the Church
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Judaism

• Judaism is a truly ancient religion which has
  been practised for five and a half thousand years
  and is based on the belief of one universal God.
  Jews worship in synagogues. Jewish people must
  live their lives according to the ten
  commandments and certain dietary restricitions
  must be kept. The extent to which these laws are
  upheld will depend on the individual. However
  most Jews in the United Kingdom will feel
  intrinsically British and their lifestyle will
  reflect this.

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Islam

• Islam is the second largest religion after
  Christianity, but with only 0.8 of the
  population it is still only a very minor
  religion. Muslims originally came to live in
  Scotland in the early 1940s from Pakistan but
  more recently some have come from the Middle
  East. Muslims worship in mosques. At the heart of
  Islam is the belief that there is no God worthy
  of worship but the one universal God (Allah). The
  second is that his messenger is the prophet
  Mohammed. Islam has five pillars that represent
  the foundations of Islamic worship and action.
  Recently the Muslim community in Britain and
  other western countries are concerned with the
  Islamophobia brought on from terrorist attacks in
  New York and London and want to rectify this
  wrong image of Islam.

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Glasgow Mosque
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Hinduism

• The Hindu tradition has no founder and is best
  understood as a group of closely connected
  religious traditions. Hindus believe in one God
  and worship that one God under many
  manifestations or images. Hindus frequently view
  systematic organisations with mistrust and so
  most religious activity is centred around the
  home. However there are temples and Sunday has
  become a day of communal worship for Hindus.
  Dharma is at the centre of Hinduism, it refers to
  the underlying order of the universe that is
  reflected in moral and ethical life

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Sikhism

• The Sikh faith is a distinct religion revealed
  through the teachings of the 10 Gurus, the first
  of who was Guru Nanak, born in 1469. This makes
  Sikhism a very recent religion. Sikhs believe
  that there is one God, while being beyond human
  comprehension, God can be realised through
  contemplation and service. Sikhs worship in a
  Gurudwara meaning House of God and everyone is
  welcome here as long as they abide by the code of
  discipline. Sikhs do not take alcohol or tobacco
  and many are vegetarian. A new Sikh temple is
  going to open in Glasgow this year.

The New Sikh temple
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Buddhism

• Buddhism is based on the teachings of the Buddha
  Shakyamuni who lived in northern India about 2500
  years ago. A Buddha is to be revered, not as a
  God, but as an example of how we should aspire to
  live our lives. Although it is particularly
  strong in northern India it is a worldwide
  religion. Schools were established in the West
  during the 20th century. This was the case in
  Scotland where we now have ten schools with
  several traditions represented. A notable
  celebration of Buddhism is Dharma Day which
  celebrate the first day of enlightenment.

A Statue of Buddha
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The Holy Isle

• The Centre For World Peace is a Buddhist retreat
  on the Holy Isle just 14 miles offshore from
  Ardrossan.
• It is owned by Samye Ling Buddhist Community who
  are part of a Tibetan Buddhist School.

The Holy Isle
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The End