Sectarianism in Scotland

by Steve Bruce, Tony Glendinning, Michael Rosie

Is Scotland a sectarian society?Scotland is divided not by religion as much as by arguments about the enduring importance of religious divisions. The ‘curse’ of Sectarianism is debated in the Parliament, the General Assembly and in the media. What we have not had until now is a serious assessment of the evidence.This book tests the rhetoric with historical and social scientific data, describing and explaining the changing pattern of relations between Catholics and Protestants over the 20th century. It concludes that Catholic integration in Scotland has been far more successful than most commentators would have us believe. While there were once deep social, political, economic and cultural divisions, these have now all but disappeared. In Scotland’s increasingly secular society, religious identity has steeply declined in social significance.The book is informed by both a considerable body of evidence from new historical research and major social surveys, and by the authors’ understanding of what the mixing of religion and politics looks like elsewhere - in America, Australia and New Zealand, as well as in Ulster. Presenting a reasoned argument and up-to-date information, the book aims to contribute to a better-informed view of sectarianism in Scotland. Key Bruce - the main author - is a well-known figure in this field.*Written in clear, accessible, arresting prose.*The first book to challenge the view that Scotland is a society deeply divided by religion.*A controversial take on a controversial subject - challenged long-held assumptions.

208 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2004

About the author

Steve Bruce (born 1951), Professor of Sociology at the University of Aberdeen since 1991, elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2003 and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2005, he has written extensively on the nature of religion in the modern world and on the links between religion and politics.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good overview of sectarianism in Scotland, however the book is riddled with typos and some of the conclusion is a bit dicey in how it makes casual assumptions about very thorny issues that the text is in no way even remotely focused on (repeated comparisons to Jim Crow states and the 'sexism' of Islam are less illustrative than the authors may have intended for a book about Protestant/Catholic relations in Scotland.) still a cogent analysis that will serve to dispel many common ideas held about religious division in Scotland.