More Scots than ever have described themselves as having no religion, according to new research. The Scottish Attitudes Survey, compiled by the independent research body ScotCen, found 58% of respondents said they had no religion at all. When the survey was carried out in 1999, the figure was 40%.
Among major denominations, the Church of Scotland has seen the sharpest decline, with just 18% saying they belong to the Kirk. ScotCen researcher Ian Montagu said: 'The decline in religious identity in Scotland has been most keenly felt by the Kirk as fewer and fewer people choose to describe themselves as Church of Scotland by default.'
Montagu added: 'As each generation coming through is consistently less religious than the last, it is hard to imagine this trend coming to a halt in the near future.' He suggested that liberalising measures, such as allowing ministers to oversee same-sex marriage ceremonies, could broaden the Kirk's appeal to younger, more socially liberal Scots.
The Reverend Norman Smith, convener of the Church of Scotland's Mission and Discipleship Council, said the survey contained no surprises for the Church. 'Other surveys show that Christianity continues to have an impact on people's lives,' he said. 'The challenge for us then as Church is to find ways that connect people's everyday life to faith.'
The survey found that the proportion of Roman Catholics (10%), other Christian affiliations (11%) and those of non-Christian faiths (2%) have remained stable within the Scottish population. The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey was based on a sample of 1,237 people interviewed between July 2016 and December 2016.
