Sectarianism in Scotland, myth or reality? Evidence from mixed partnerships in Scotland.

Gillian M Raab (1) , Chris Holligan (2)

1 School of Geography and Geosciences [St Andrews]
2 Faculty of Education, Health & Social Sciences

This article explores the contested issue of whether sectarianism divides Catholics and Protestants in Scotland. The conclusions are based on an analysis of 111,627 couples from the 2001 Census. Young adults are much more likely than older people to have been raised with no religion This is largely due to a decline in the Protestant group, with Catholics remaining stable. The socio-economic disadvantage of older Catholics compared to Potestants has eroded at the youngest ages. Those with no religious upbringing are disadvantaged at all ages. Catholics are more likely than Protestants to form couples outside their religious group, and this is not simply because their minority status restricts available partners. We also describe how inter-sectarian marriage influences current religious practice. The pattern of inter-sectarian partnerships are such that many young Protestants and Catholics in Scotland will have those with the opposite background among their extended families, and this should contribute to undermining sectarian divisions.

Mots clés: Social Sciences & Humanities

Domaines: Anthropologie sociale et ethnologie

Gillian M Raab, Chris Holligan. Sectarianism in Scotland, myth or reality? Evidence from mixed partnerships in Scotland.. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2011, PP (PP), pp.1. ⟨10.1080/01419870.2011.607506⟩. ⟨hal-00733889⟩