As of the 2011 census, Christianity was the largest religion in Scotland, chosen by 53.8% of the Scottish population identifying when asked: "What religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?" This represented a decline from the 2001 figure of 65.1%. More recent polls of public opinion have shown that the majority today consider themselves non-religious. In 2017, the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, conducted by ScotCen Social Research found that 58% of Scots identified themselves as non-religious, compared to 40% in 1999.[1][2]
The Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian denomination often known as The Kirk, is recognised in law as the national church of Scotland. It is not an established church and is independent of state control. However, it is the largest religious grouping in Scotland, adhered to by 32.4% of the population, according to the 2011 census. The other major Christian church is the Catholic Church, the form of Christianity in Scotland prior to the Reformation, which accounts for 15.9% of the population and is especially important in West Central Scotland and parts of the Highlands. Scotland's third largest church is the Scottish Episcopal Church.[3] There are also multiple smaller Presbyterian churches, all of which either broke away from the Church of Scotland or themselves separated from churches which previously did so. According to the 2019 Scottish Household survey, since 2009, there has been an increase in the proportion of adults reporting not belonging to a religion to 56%. The trend of declining religious belief coincided with a sharp decrease since 2009 in the proportion of people who report that they belong to the Church of Scotland, from 34% to 20% of adults. Furthermore 13% (slightly down from 15% in 2009) reported belonging to the Catholic Church.[4][5]
Other religions have established a presence in Scotland, mainly through immigration and higher birth rates among ethnic minorities. Those with the most adherents in the 2011 census are Islam (1.4%), Hinduism (0.3%), Buddhism (0.2%) and Sikhism (0.2%). Minority faiths include Modern Paganism and the Baháʼí Faith. There are also various organisations which actively promote humanism and secularism, included within the 36.7% who indicated no religion in the 2011 census. Since 2016, secular humanists have conducted more weddings in Scotland each year than either the Catholic Church, Church of Scotland, or any other religion.[6]
^"Religious affiliation in Scotland 'declines sharply'". BBC News. July 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
^Scottish Social Attitudes survey 2016 – Religious identification tables ScotCen Social Research
^"Scottish Episcopal Church could be first in UK to conduct same-sex weddings". Scottish Legal News. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
^Scotland’s People Annual Report Key findings | 2019 A National Statistics publication for Scotland page 14. Household Characteristics
^Scotland’s People Annual Report: Results from the 2016 Scottish Household Survey Figure 2.5: Religious belonging of adults by year 2009 - 2018 data Scottish Government: National Statistics
^"More than 4200 Humanist weddings took place in Scotland last year". Humanist Society Scotland. August 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
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