Almost 50% of Scotland Does Not Believe in Religion

Religion is on the decline in Scotland. Research by the Scottish Household Survey shows only half of Scots today have any religious affiliation. The number of non-religious Scots has risen to 49.8 percent from 40 percent in 2009. The number of Scots who identified themselves with the Church of Scotland has dropped from 34 percent to 25 percent.

 
The Convener of the Church of Scotland’s Church and Society Council, however, is not surprised about the decline. Rev. Dr. Richard Frazer, a minister at Greyfriars in Edinburgh, revealed that this decline in religious sentiments was something he always saw coming. He said this decline does not mean the people are no more spiritual. Rather, he believes people today simply do not want to follow an institutional way of life and are looking for more “open” ways to express their “spirituality.”

 

Rev. Dr. Frazer revealed the Church of Scotland had anticipated this change in spiritual needs from a long time. As such, the Church has already taken measures to adapt to the changing times. The Church leaders have taken up certain initiatives to cater to the spiritual needs of the modern people already. The main focus of their initiatives is to take the church and religion directly to the people, rather than keeping it concentrated in church structures alone. Reflecting on the study’s findings, he said the figures only give a partial picture of the whole story. He added that the initiatives the Church has taken are successful to a great extent, a fact that cannot be shown through numbers.

 

Read More: Almost 50% of Scotland Does Not Believe in Religion – World Religion News

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