The Sectarian Myth in Scotland: Of Bitter Memory and Bigotry

194 Pages·2004·1.041 MB·English

by  Michael Rosie (auth.)

The Sectarian Myth in
Scotland
Of Bitter Memory and Bigotry
Michael Rosie
The Sectarian Myth in Scotland
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The Sectarian Myth in
Scotland
Of Bitter Memory and Bigotry
Michael Rosie
Lecturer in Sociology
School of Social and Political Studies
University of Edinburgh, UK
© Michael Rosie 2004
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2004 978-1-4039-2167-3
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First published 2004 by
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ISBN 978-1-349-51548-6 ISBN 978-0-230-50513-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230505131
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rosie, Michael, 1968–
The sectarian myth in Scotland:of bitter memory and bigotry/
Michael Rosie.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1–4039–2167–9
1. Christianity and politics—Scotland—History. 2. Scotland—Church
history. 3. Religion and politics—Scotland—History. 4. Scotland—
Religion. I. Title.
BR786.3.R67 2004
305.6′09411—dc22
2004044367
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne
For Emma
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Contents
List of Tables viii
Acknowledgements ix
1 Introduction 1
2 ‘Sectarianism’ in Modern Scotland 8
3 Secularisation and ‘Sectarianism’ 28
4 Religion and Politics in Contemporary Scotland 49
5 ‘The Rising Tide of Paganism’ 72
6 ‘Dumb Dogs’ and ‘Bonneted Chieftains’ 89
7 ‘A Happy Solution to a Difficult Problem’ 107
8 ‘The Reformation must be Fought Again’ 126
9 ‘Reality is Always a Little More Complex’ 144
Appendix: Logistic Regression Models 151
Notes 154
Bibliography 166
Index 178
vii
List of Tables
2.1 Social class by denomination, 2001 25
3.1 Scottish Protestant Church membership, 1900–2000 34
3.2 Other Protestant Church membership, 1900–2000 35
3.3 Active Protestant communicants 35
3.4 Adult Catholic Mass attendance 35
3.5 Comparative church attendance (selected areas), 2002 39
3.6 Perceptions of religious conflict in Scotland 41
3.7 Long-term future of Northern Ireland, 2001 42
3.8 Denominational positions on Northern Ireland, 2001 43
4.1 Scottish vote by denomination, UK general election, 2001 51
4.2 Scottish vote by denomination, Holyrood election, 1999 52
4.3 The Moreno question, 1992 and 2001 65
4.4 Claimed national identities, 2001 66
5.1 Church membership, 1900–1950 75
5.2 Church attendance, 1900–1950 75
8.1 Protestant electoral record by ward 132
viii
Acknowledgements
Many individuals have assisted in the writing of this book – thanks go
to Ross Bond, Hugo Gorringe, Gill Haddow, Christine Johnston, Tom
McGlew, and Sue Renton, amongst others. I owe a debt of gratitude to
Steve Bruce, Lindsay Paterson, Frank Bechhofer, Owen Dudley Edwards,
Elaine McFarland, and John Brewer for their encouragement and good
advice. I am immensely grateful to David McCrone without whose
patient support this book would simply have been impossible. The
financial assistance of the Economic and Social Research Council (award
number R00429634311) funded the original research, and I was helped
and encouraged by all the staff and postgraduates, past and present, in
Sociology at the University of Edinburgh. Finally, thanks go to all those
who have listened to my ideas – the half-baked more often than the
well-formed – in particular to Emma Davidson, proof reader and formatter
per excellence.
ix