SCOTLAND
Religion

Cities in SCOTLAND

Edinburgh

Glasgow

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England	Northern ireland	Scotland
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Religion

Dunblane Cathedral Scotland_{Photo: DeFacto CC 4.0 International no changes made}

The Presbyterian* Church of Scotland or Scottish Church (also called "Kirk") has about 1600 congregations with about 752,000 members, the (Anglican) Episcopal Church of Scotland about 58,000; the number of Roman Catholics is approximately 745,000, living mainly in and around Glasgow, who are divided into two archdioceses and six dioceses. These Catholics are still descended from the Irish immigrants who arrived in Scotland in the 19th century. Quite a few Catholics still live in Aberdeenshire, the Eastern Highlands, the Southern Hebrides, South Uist, Eriskay and Barra Islands.

In addition, there is the Free Church of Scotland, especially on the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides on Harris, North Uist and Lewis Islands), and a number of small Orthodox Calvinist denominations, such as Methodists, Congregationalists and Unitarians. Furthermore, there are still small numbers of Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. Glasgow has many synagogues, mosques and even a Buddhist center.

Church of Scotland logo_{Photo: Matthew Ross in the public domain}

The Church of Scotland is strictly democratic, and ecclesiastical congregations and elders have an important voice. For example, the elders look for a suitable minister candidate who may or may not be elected by the congregations. The leader of the Scottish Church, the "moderator", is elected for only one year.
The Church of Scotland's highest organ, the General Assembly, meets in Edinburgh every year.

*Presbyterianism (Greek: presbuteros = elder) is a name used in the English language area for what is called Reformed Protestantism elsewhere.

Presbyterianism is a strict religious movement, in which the Presbyterians worship God, their Creator, in simple houses of worship. The pulpit is central; statues, paintings and other decorations are hardly present. The pastor's sermon is very important, there is no further liturgy and no fixed forms of prayer like the Lord's Prayer. The prayers are "extempore", unprepared.

The reason for the lack of ostentation is that rituals are considered utterly insignificant; much more important is the relationship of the individual to his or her creator.

Sincerity is seen as the most important virtue and the standards that the "kirk" holds up to its believers are duty, discipline and serious concern for what is good for society.

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Sources

Berkien, G. / Schotland
Kosmos-Z&K

Berkien, G. / Schotland
ANWB

Larrimore, D. / Schotland
Kosmos-Z&K

Levy, P. / Scotland
Marshall Cavendish

Patitz, A. / Schotland
Van Reemst

Schaff, B. / Schotland
Kok Lyra

Schotland
Cambium

Schotland
Lannoo

Schotland
Michelin Reisuitgaven

Schotland
Van Reemst

Smallman, T. / Scotland
Lonely Planet

Stoks, F.T. / Schotland
Gottmer

Summers, G. / Schotland
Van Reemst

Tschirner, S. / Schotland
ANWB

Wamel, D. van / Schotland en Noord-Engeland
Babylon-De Geus

CIA - World Factbook

BBC - Country Profiles

Last updated April 2024
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