Nearly 70pc of Christians in Scotland have experienced prejudice
Almost 70 per cent of Christians in Scotland believe they have experienced prejudice as a result of their faith, a survey has revealed.
A vast majority of believers were concerned about abuse and negative attitudes directed at Christian politicians and did not feel “supported” by the Scottish Government, research commissioned by the think tank Logos Scotland found.
Campaigners called for new measures to improve “tolerance” for members of Scotland’s mainstream religions with a clear majority also saying they felt reluctant to talk about their beliefs in public.
The findings follow a storm of criticism directed at Kate Forbes, now the deputy First Minister, when she ran for the post of SNP leader last year for taking policy positions based on Christian teachings.
A member of the Free Church of Scotland, which is seen by its critics as hardline, she faced repeated attacks for stating her personal opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.
John Swinney, now the First Minister who made Ms Forbes his deputy to avoid another leadership contest, was among the SNP figures to publicly question whether her views made her an “appropriate” person to lead Scotland.
The survey found that most non-Christians did not believe that Christians suffered discrimination.
However, nearly 70 per cent of believers said they had experienced prejudice through “negative comments or attitudes towards them” with a similar number admitting they are “reluctant to speak about their faith in public”.
Overall, almost four in five Christians said they had “experienced or witnessed prejudice or discrimination” in some form because of their Christian faith.
‘Feeling of exclusion’
“These findings expose a palpable feeling of exclusion amongst Scotland’s vibrant Christian community,” Shona Haslam, chief executive of Logos Scotland and the former leader of Scottish Borders Council, said.
“There is an opportunity now for the First Minister to set a new tone for Scotland - one that doesn’t attempt to silence or ‘cancel’ Christian views, but rather, includes all perspectives in the public conversation.”
The survey results follow the publication of the most recent census which found that, for the first time ever, a majority of Scots said they did not follow any religion.
Just one in five said they were part of the Church of Scotland in 2022, down from almost a third a decade ago, while 13.3 per cent were Roman Catholic and 5.1 per cent other Christian. A majority, 51.1 per cent, said they had no religion.
“One in three Scots hold a Christian faith, yet it’s clear that there is much work to be done to increase tolerance towards this faith group,” Ms Haslam added.
“We hope the data can help guide leaders to listen to the views of all Scots in the decision-making processes of our country - including Christians.”
Logos Scotland is a Christian think tank set up to promote Christian values in the public sphere. The survey it commissioned, of more than 1,000 people including 868 Christians, was carried out between January and April.
Mr Swinney, who became First Minister in May, is a member of the Church of Scotland and has described himself as a man of “deep Christian faith”.
However, he became embroiled in a row with Ms Forbes last year, in a fractious SNP leadership contest which she narrowly lost to Humza Yousaf.
Mr Swinney questioned whether Ms Forbes’ stance on gay marriage made her an “appropriate” person to lead his party, after she admitted she would not have voted in favour of it had she been an MSP at the time.
Ms Forbes claimed Mr Swinney was effectively saying a woman with “Christian views” should be “disqualified from holding high office in Scotland.”
The pair later reconciled and Mr Swinney made Ms Forbes deputy First Minister after he persuaded her not to challenge him for the party leadership after Mr Yousaf’s tenure ended in disaster.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government supports and values Scotland’s diverse faith and belief communities and recognises the important role they play in making Scotland a more inclusive society.”