Religion in Scotland

Scotland is a traditionally Christian nation in which, in the 2001 census, some 65% of the population said they were Christian. The Church of Scotland, or The Kirk, has legal recognition as the national church in Scotland: but, unlike the Church of England south of the border, it is not an "established church", i.e. it is not formally linked with the state.

During the middle ages Scotland showed - by contemporary European standards at least - considerable religious tolerance. It was one of the few states in Europe not to systematically persecute Jews, and in the Declaration of Arbroath of 6 April 1320, the great and the good of Scotland put their name to a document containing the statement cum non sit Pondus nec distinccio Judei et Greci, Scoti aut Anglici, which translates as "there is neither bias nor difference between Jew or Greek, Scot or English".

All in all, the story of the evolution of religion in Scotland does us little credit as a nation. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why, in 2001, Scotland's second biggest religion was no religion at all.

The history of religion in Scotland is fascinating and complicated. More about the history of religion in Scotland can be found at-

http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usscotfax/soc/religion.html

and

http://scottishchristian.com/churches/