Divided Scotland: Ethnic Friction and Christian Crisis - Hardcover

Gallagher, Tom

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1908931280 ISBN 13: 9781908931283

Publisher: Argyll Publishing, 2011

Synopsis

Why has inter-communal strife involving the use (and many would say mis-use) of religious and national symbols enjoyed such an extended life in Scotland? Why does it still manage to persist despite changes in Scottish society which would appear to remove the oxygen enabling sectarianism to breathe? Football seems to be its most visible outlet but has it merely been a channel for deeper suspicions and conflict? What role have the state and powerful institutions played in allowing such antagonism to continue or in belatedly limiting its worst effects? Is friction over symbols, territory, and allegiances part of a deeper factionalism in Scottish life that may not easily vanish even if state action drives sectarianism underground in Scotland? This book is the first full-length study of Scotland's ethno-religious discord that has appeared in the devolution era. It explores the origins and staying power of sectarian conflict and analyses the new tensions that have erupted since 2010, and the response of the state, the media, churches, the soccer world, and a range of civic groups. It argues that while Scotland has ceased to be overtly Protestant, anti-Catholicism remains an option that is acquiring respectability of the kind that it never had for almost a century. The Catholic Church's defence of traditional social values has placed it on a collision course with secular interests who have filled the power vacuum in Scotland that opened up following the crumbling of a once-dominant Protestant order. The book argues that Catholicism continues to be seen as a backward force and as a drag on a modernising Scotland. Ironically, some of its staunchest allies are now to be found in the depleted ranks of protestant Scotland. So Scotland may be slowly overcoming one kind of sectarianism only to be embroiled in a new kind of war over faith and culture familiar to continental European countries like France and Spain in the last two hundred years. Arguably, Scots who despise their religious or ideological enemies are growing in number, not diminishing. They might ponder what happens when clashes of societal values, along with religious differences, are pushed to outright division.

About this title

About the Author

Tom Gallagher is recently retired from the Department of Peace Studies, Bradford University where he taught for 31 years. Ten single authored books explore the interplay of religion and nationalism in modern Europe. He lives in Edinburgh.

Edition details

• Publisher: Argyll Publishing
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1908931280
• ISBN 13: 9781908931283
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288