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Part Two Religion in Glasgow- A Statistical Map
Preliminary Remarks
Notes to Tables
Sources - Sources are indicated at the foot of each table.
Most of the tables in this report are derived from the Census of Scotland, 2001, the first Census since 1851 to include questions on religion - more information on the Census (and a good deal of data) can be found at www.scrol.gov.uk .
Scottish Household Surveys - some data is drawn from Scottish Household Surveys of 2001 and 2003. The more recent SHS includes 3,219 individuals drawn from 1,570 Households within the Glasgow City Council area. Information on this survey can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/SR/CRU-SocInc/00016002/SHShome.aspx
Sectarianism, Intolerance and Racism in Glasgow, 2002 - this study, carried out by NFO-System 3 on behalf of Glasgow City, sought to investigate the extent of religious intolerance within the city. The data can be found at the UK Data Archive ( www.data-archive.ac.uk ) under reference number SN4829.
The subsequent report, entitled Sectarianism in Glasgow - The Final Report, was published in January 2003 and can be found at:
http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/YourCouncil/PolicyPlanning_Strategy/Corporate/Research_Development/sectarianisminglasgow.htm
Scottish Church Census - an irregular series of studies have been carried out by 'Christian Research' in conjunction with Scotland's Christian bodies. Some data are drawn from the 1994 and, in particular, 2002 Censuses. More information can be found here: http://www.christian-research.org.uk /
Key - unless otherwise stated all percentages are calculated by column.
Percentages falling below 0.1 are denoted as " * ".
Strengths and Limitations of the 'Head Count' Method
This report draws on a variety of surveys, primarily the 2001 Census of Scotland. In 2001, for the first time since 1851, the Census asked householders about their religion. It did this by asking people how they would describe their current religion, and how they would describe their religion of upbringing. The specific questions asked:
- What religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?
- What religion, religious denomination or body were you brought up in?
For both questions ten 'tick box' options were given, two of which invited further details. These were, in order presented to householders:
- None
- Church of Scotland
- Roman Catholic
- Other Christian (please write in)
- Buddhist
- Hindu
- Jewish
- Muslim
- Sikh
- Another religion (please write in)
The great strength of the Census is that whilst previous surveys offered a glimpse into the religious attitudes or identities of relatively small samples of the Scottish population (samples numbered - at very best - in the thousands), the Census records the current religion and religious background of almost every person in Scotland. Where previous surveys required inference from a small sample to the general population the Census comprises the general population. However, whilst we now have more reliable and robust information about religion in Scotland than ever before it is worth noting some limitations in the Census and other survey data.
Simply asking respondents to name the religious tradition and/or denomination to which they belong produces the widest possible definition of a religious 'community', but offers little information about how closely attached, or involved, individuals may be within that community. In short, 'head counts' treat the most actively committed religious individuals as equal to individuals whose membership of a religious group may be entirely 'nominal'. In particular, it may be that the official nature of the Census may encourage some respondents to assign themselves (and other members of their household) to categories or 'identities' to which they have only the most tenuous of connections 'in the real world'. We cannot, therefore, equate the ticking of a Census category with 'membership' or 'allegiance' to any religious organisation or tradition.
Some evidence that the 'official' status of the Census may inflate the level of religious affiliation can be found in the differing proportions of Glaswegians who describe themselves as being of 'no religion' in different surveys. For example, the Census - representing an official state exercise in which every household is legally obliged to participate - found that 23% of Glaswegians described their current religion as 'none'. The 2002 'Sectarianism, Intolerance and Racism in Glasgow' study, which asked respondents a wide range of specifically 'religious' questions, found this proportion to be 25%. On the other hand the 2003 'Scottish Household Survey', neither 'official' nor primarily concerned with religion, found 32% of all surveyed persons in Glasgow described their current religion as 'none'. It seems reasonable to conclude that many persons who would assign themselves a religious identity on Census forms, or when answering a survey about religion, may under different circumstances describe themselves as being of no religion.
Likewise, religious identity or affiliation measured by surveys offer a distinctly different picture of religion than measures of actual religious behaviour. For example, although 374,393 Glaswegians described themselves as Christians in the 2001 Census, the 'Scottish Church Census' of the following year found 82,750 worshippers in Glasgow's Churches. This suggests that a little over one fifth (22%) of all Glasgow's Christians are regular church attendees - and that a large number of Christians may be, to all intents and purposes, non-attendees. The same data suggests that only around 12% of Church of Scotland identifiers are regular attenders, compared to 28% of Catholics and 53% across the 'other Christian' category. In part this reflects the wider phenomena (across the 'western' world) in which Catholicism and the independent churches have been considerably more successful in resisting secularisation than the 'mainstream' Protestant Churches. 'Nominalism', therefore, is a particular issue when dealing with the Census figures for the Church of Scotland. It should also be noted that the Church Census recorded a 19% decline in the numbers attending Glasgow churches over 1994-2002, a considerable drop over a relatively short period of time.
There is another problem in interpreting respondent's meanings and intentions. For example, the Census question on current religion offer householders a series of tick boxes and two general categories ('other Christian' and 'another religion') with the option to 'write in' further details. It is understandably tempting, indeed 'logical', to assume that those who ticked the 'other Christian' box are neither Kirk Presbyterians nor Roman Catholics; and that those choosing 'another religion' box belong to faiths not covered elsewhere. It would seem reasonable to assume, for example, that Baptists or Methodists would assign themselves as 'other Christians' and Zoroastrians, Wiccans or Spiritualists as 'another religion'.
In fact the available evidence shows that some householders were confused by the Census format or, for whatever reason, declined to follow its logic. Across Scotland some 26,974 assigned themselves to the 'another religion' category, and we have information on the specific religious identities of what around 8,500 householders 'wrote in'. Far from this group comprising religions not covered by the preceding options, it comprises very many people who 'logically' should have ticked something else. Many might have been expected to select one or other of the Christian categories (2,376); others one of the other specified religions (120); and some might have been thought to be covered by 'none' ( i.e. atheists, agnostics and humanists comprise 731 classified as 'another religion'). The remaining respondents (3,959) did specify religious categories outwith the preceding options: the largest of these groups were Baha'i (numbering 421); Taoist (162); Pagan (1,930); and Spiritualist (868).
The key drawbacks of the headcount method, therefore, are that it can be quite crude: it counts the most active and most nominal members of groups together without distinguishing between them; and some individuals fail to fit themselves into the 'boxes' thus offered to them.
However, these drawbacks must be tempered by the strengths of the headcount method. The general picture drawn by the Census and other surveys may be in some respects crude - but there is simply no other method of capturing the general picture. It seems fair to assume that in most carefully and professionally constructed surveys, respondents will be able to answer carefully and honestly. Further, so long as we bear in mind what is being measured ( i.e. the Census does not measure religious activity or commitment), we can treat such data as robust, reliable and - crucially - representative.
The focus for the remainder of this report, except where otherwise stated will be on the current religion measure from the Census. It should be appreciated, however, that this specific measure may, in many instances, overstate the extent of some 'communities'. In particular, as indicated by the discussion above, many people included within the Christian communities by way of their response to this Census question will have, at most, a nominal connection with their faith group.
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