This contribution to the theme of ‘Scotland and the Two Irelands’ takes the form of a discussion ... more This contribution to the theme of ‘Scotland and the Two Irelands’ takes the form of a discussion between Michael Rosie, editor of Scottish Affairs, and Professor Sir Tom Devine, the pre-eminent scholar of modern connections between Scotland and Ireland. In the discussion Devine unfolds the migrant autobiographies of the Devine and Martin families, from rural Ulster, through industrial Lanarkshire, and into Scotland’s professional classes. The account sheds light both on the migrant experience, and on the centrality of secondary education for twentieth century Scottish social mobility.
Despite persistent debate about the status and character of Scotland’s Catholic community the que... more Despite persistent debate about the status and character of Scotland’s Catholic community the question of how distinctive – if at all – Scotland’s Catholics are within a wider British Catholicism is seldom asked. Utilising the newly released Catholics in Britain Survey of 2019 this short article sketches out some comparative evidence on Catholic religiosity, moral values, family, and personal networks. It concludes that Scotland’s Catholicism is closely similar, in terms of such measures, to a wider British Catholic community.
This chapter investigates the intrusion of militant Protestantism into the municipal politics of ... more This chapter investigates the intrusion of militant Protestantism into the municipal politics of Scotland’s largest cities. The SPL in Glasgow, and the Protestant Action Society (PAS) in Edinburgh achieved remarkable, but brief, success in the 1930s. Whilst their success suggests a reservoir of latent anti-Catholicism, the rapidity of their emergence and decline suggests that the potential of anti-Catholicism was severely limited. Militant Protestant success was contingent on localised and short-lived social and political factors, not the vibrancy of anti-Catholic sentiment. The historiography on the militants is interesting: only obliquely referred to by the contemporary commentator Compton Mackenzie, and ignored altogether by Handley in the 1940s, they re-emerged from obscurity with the publication of studies by Bruce and by Gallagher in the 1980s.1 Few subsequent accounts have ignored the phenomenon. Indeed, these organisations have been central to the view that the inter-war period represents the zenith of religious conflict in modern Scotland. Writing of PAS, for example, Tom Devine has claimed they provoked ‘the most violent anti-Catholic riots’ in Scotland’s twentieth century.2
The Survey of young Scots was designed to investigate the attitudes of young Scots who would be e... more The Survey of young Scots was designed to investigate the attitudes of young Scots who would be eligible to vote for the first time in their life in 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Two representative samples of young people aged 14-17 years old living in Scotland are collected respectively in 2013 and 2014. Their views on Scottish independence and devolution, feelings of Scottish, British and European identities, and political interest are asked.
The Advisory Group is entirely independent and has focussed it's work on three key areas:- me... more The Advisory Group is entirely independent and has focussed it's work on three key areas:- meeting with organisations and individuals to gather evidence on the understanding and impact of sectarianism in Scotland;- examining the existing research base for evidence of sectarianism in Scotland; and- looking at what can be learned from the many existing projects that are working to tackle sectarianism in Scotland.These key areas have been the focus of the work and are covered in the finding, conclusions and recommendations within the report.
The Advisory Group was established by the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs to prov... more The Advisory Group was established by the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs to provide independent, impartial advice on developing work to tackle sectarianism in Scotland. The final report outlines the key conclusions and findings of the group.
The issue of separate Catholic schools has been a point of historical friction in many parts of t... more The issue of separate Catholic schools has been a point of historical friction in many parts of the world, and highlights the mythologies surrounding Catholic-Protestant relations in Scotland. The journey of Catholic — and Episcopalian — Church schools from their refusal to join Scotland’s state system in 1872, to their entry in 1918, is fascinating and illuminating. Whilst relatively little has been published on Episcopalian schools, there is a broad and expanding literature on Catholic education. Missing from most accounts, however, is an explanation of Catholic educational separatism. James Treble, for example, dispensed with Catholicism’s ‘conscious repudiation’ of State education in 1872 by noting that it contained two impulses. The first was an emphasis on a Catholic ‘atmosphere’; the second — which Treble privileged — was suspicion that the new state system would either prioritise Presbyterianism or, at worst, promote religious apathy and, ultimately, secularism.1 Yet, Cathol...
Religious separatism in Britain has tended to be social and cultural, and has had to accommodate ... more Religious separatism in Britain has tended to be social and cultural, and has had to accommodate itself to Britain’s ‘open’ political system. Achieving this accommodation, and the impact of religion upon Scottish politics, is a primary concern of this chapter. It reveals the crucial difference between religious separatism and religious bigotry. Separatism refers to the belief that the faithful should refrain from unnecessary contact with other faiths, or with the secular world. In other words, the proper place for Catholics is within the Catholic Church and a Catholic marriage, their children educated in a Catholic school, their leisure time enjoyed with fellow Catholics in lay Catholic organisations. Separatism is less well defined for Protestants, but Church, youth, and Temperance organisations did provide an institutional framework within which to lead a ‘Protestant’ life. Such separatism represents a diluted form of the pillarisation found in a number of European societies c. 1870–1970. Separation implied a value judgement upon the Other, of course: a Protestant life was encouraged in part because it was seen as superior — morally and culturally — to that of a Catholic or secular life. It is here that separatism and bigotry coincide: religious bigotry relates to an active opposition to another faith, to (attempted) interventions into, and denigration of, its activities.
This response to Harry Reid's Outside Verdict: An Old Kirk in a New Scotland builds on the bo... more This response to Harry Reid's Outside Verdict: An Old Kirk in a New Scotland builds on the book's extensive use of demographic data by presenting further statistical evidence of institutional decline in the Church of Scotland. The paper considers the wider picture of church decline in Scotland and internationally, and also looks at specific issues raised by the book including 'administrative stagnation in the face of catastrophic membership decline'
This contribution to the theme of ‘Scotland and the Two Irelands’ takes the form of a discussion ... more This contribution to the theme of ‘Scotland and the Two Irelands’ takes the form of a discussion between Michael Rosie, editor of Scottish Affairs, and Professor Sir Tom Devine, the pre-eminent scholar of modern connections between Scotland and Ireland. In the discussion Devine unfolds the migrant autobiographies of the Devine and Martin families, from rural Ulster, through industrial Lanarkshire, and into Scotland’s professional classes. The account sheds light both on the migrant experience, and on the centrality of secondary education for twentieth century Scottish social mobility.
Despite persistent debate about the status and character of Scotland’s Catholic community the que... more Despite persistent debate about the status and character of Scotland’s Catholic community the question of how distinctive – if at all – Scotland’s Catholics are within a wider British Catholicism is seldom asked. Utilising the newly released Catholics in Britain Survey of 2019 this short article sketches out some comparative evidence on Catholic religiosity, moral values, family, and personal networks. It concludes that Scotland’s Catholicism is closely similar, in terms of such measures, to a wider British Catholic community.
This chapter investigates the intrusion of militant Protestantism into the municipal politics of ... more This chapter investigates the intrusion of militant Protestantism into the municipal politics of Scotland’s largest cities. The SPL in Glasgow, and the Protestant Action Society (PAS) in Edinburgh achieved remarkable, but brief, success in the 1930s. Whilst their success suggests a reservoir of latent anti-Catholicism, the rapidity of their emergence and decline suggests that the potential of anti-Catholicism was severely limited. Militant Protestant success was contingent on localised and short-lived social and political factors, not the vibrancy of anti-Catholic sentiment. The historiography on the militants is interesting: only obliquely referred to by the contemporary commentator Compton Mackenzie, and ignored altogether by Handley in the 1940s, they re-emerged from obscurity with the publication of studies by Bruce and by Gallagher in the 1980s.1 Few subsequent accounts have ignored the phenomenon. Indeed, these organisations have been central to the view that the inter-war period represents the zenith of religious conflict in modern Scotland. Writing of PAS, for example, Tom Devine has claimed they provoked ‘the most violent anti-Catholic riots’ in Scotland’s twentieth century.2
The Survey of young Scots was designed to investigate the attitudes of young Scots who would be e... more The Survey of young Scots was designed to investigate the attitudes of young Scots who would be eligible to vote for the first time in their life in 2014 Scottish independence referendum. Two representative samples of young people aged 14-17 years old living in Scotland are collected respectively in 2013 and 2014. Their views on Scottish independence and devolution, feelings of Scottish, British and European identities, and political interest are asked.
The Advisory Group is entirely independent and has focussed it's work on three key areas:- me... more The Advisory Group is entirely independent and has focussed it's work on three key areas:- meeting with organisations and individuals to gather evidence on the understanding and impact of sectarianism in Scotland;- examining the existing research base for evidence of sectarianism in Scotland; and- looking at what can be learned from the many existing projects that are working to tackle sectarianism in Scotland.These key areas have been the focus of the work and are covered in the finding, conclusions and recommendations within the report.
The Advisory Group was established by the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs to prov... more The Advisory Group was established by the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs to provide independent, impartial advice on developing work to tackle sectarianism in Scotland. The final report outlines the key conclusions and findings of the group.
The issue of separate Catholic schools has been a point of historical friction in many parts of t... more The issue of separate Catholic schools has been a point of historical friction in many parts of the world, and highlights the mythologies surrounding Catholic-Protestant relations in Scotland. The journey of Catholic — and Episcopalian — Church schools from their refusal to join Scotland’s state system in 1872, to their entry in 1918, is fascinating and illuminating. Whilst relatively little has been published on Episcopalian schools, there is a broad and expanding literature on Catholic education. Missing from most accounts, however, is an explanation of Catholic educational separatism. James Treble, for example, dispensed with Catholicism’s ‘conscious repudiation’ of State education in 1872 by noting that it contained two impulses. The first was an emphasis on a Catholic ‘atmosphere’; the second — which Treble privileged — was suspicion that the new state system would either prioritise Presbyterianism or, at worst, promote religious apathy and, ultimately, secularism.1 Yet, Cathol...
Religious separatism in Britain has tended to be social and cultural, and has had to accommodate ... more Religious separatism in Britain has tended to be social and cultural, and has had to accommodate itself to Britain’s ‘open’ political system. Achieving this accommodation, and the impact of religion upon Scottish politics, is a primary concern of this chapter. It reveals the crucial difference between religious separatism and religious bigotry. Separatism refers to the belief that the faithful should refrain from unnecessary contact with other faiths, or with the secular world. In other words, the proper place for Catholics is within the Catholic Church and a Catholic marriage, their children educated in a Catholic school, their leisure time enjoyed with fellow Catholics in lay Catholic organisations. Separatism is less well defined for Protestants, but Church, youth, and Temperance organisations did provide an institutional framework within which to lead a ‘Protestant’ life. Such separatism represents a diluted form of the pillarisation found in a number of European societies c. 1870–1970. Separation implied a value judgement upon the Other, of course: a Protestant life was encouraged in part because it was seen as superior — morally and culturally — to that of a Catholic or secular life. It is here that separatism and bigotry coincide: religious bigotry relates to an active opposition to another faith, to (attempted) interventions into, and denigration of, its activities.
This response to Harry Reid's Outside Verdict: An Old Kirk in a New Scotland builds on the bo... more This response to Harry Reid's Outside Verdict: An Old Kirk in a New Scotland builds on the book's extensive use of demographic data by presenting further statistical evidence of institutional decline in the Church of Scotland. The paper considers the wider picture of church decline in Scotland and internationally, and also looks at specific issues raised by the book including 'administrative stagnation in the face of catastrophic membership decline'
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