Timothy W. Taylor, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Politics and International Relations, Wheaton College
Scotland has secularized at an alarming rate. While many wonder how Scotland lost the faith, Christians, greater in number than a mere remnant, remain faithful. Some may predict a continuous decline in church attendance, but new evidence bolsters optimism for Christian Scots. A recent survey from Logos Scotland takes a much needed first step to examine the attitudes of Christians in Scotland toward their faith and engagement in public life. The survey finds that while the average Christian feels equipped and ready to share their faith with others, but they believe fellow Christians are reluctant to speak about their faith. And this mismatch of beliefs may lead to a general silence of Christian faith in the public square.
Far from downtrodden, Christians are equipped and ready to share their faith with others in Scotland. But the same individuals do not believe other Christians are equipped or eager to speak in public about their faith. Insofar as Christians harbor misperceptions within their own communities, a collective insecurity may stifle their freedom to joyfully share their faith. The public square becomes diminished through a self-censoring in one part of the vibrant fabric of Scottish society. We must therefore correct any misunderstandings within the broader church to both be encouraged and promote Christian engagement within local neighborhoods and in public spaces.
A well-documented finding is the decrease in church attendance and people identifying as Christians in Scotland. For the first time, a majority of Scots have no religion, up from 36.7 percent in 2011, and only 39 percent would call themselves “Christians”. We can only know these meaningful trends through regular data collection through census and surveys. Fortunately, institutions such as Scotland’s Census records national demographics which enable researchers and commentators to measure the health of society and how it changes over time. But many important indicators remain unasked and unidentified.
We may know a great deal about the decline of the Christian church in terms of numbers and percent of the total population, but we know very little about the vibrancy and health of what churches remain. We now have a snapshot from 2024 to assess the quality of Christianity and better assess its prospects in contemporary Scotland, and with continued data collection, into the future.
Christians Feel Equipped to Speak about their Faith
A recent survey asked Christians if they feel adequality equipped to speak about their faith with those who hold different religious or secular views. A supermajority of 70.9 percent of Christians felt equipped to speak about their faith with others. This is incredibly encouraging to see in an era crowded with figures pointing toward a dwindling and oftentimes associated with a weakened church.
And when the question is differentiated by church affiliation, Christians consistently report feeling equipped to speak about their personal faith with others who hold different beliefs. When totalling those who ‘strongly agree’ or ‘agree’ they are equipped to speak about their faith, the numbers breakdown as follows:
Catholic, 76.3%
Church of Scotland, 73.8%
Free Church, 70.8%
Independent, 51.2%
Christians, across a wide array of church settings, feel they are equipped to speak about their faith with others who hold different views. This finding illustrates what may be a surprising finding amidst headlines reporting the decline of the church, Scottish Christians are prepared to engage others. But while Christians may feel equipped to speak about their faith, they are not as confident and ready to do so when it may result in negative reactions.
Christians Feel Equipped in Biblical Perspectives
Christians also feel equipped to speak about current issues from a Biblical perspective. 56.9 percent of Christians say they are able to discuss issues in the news from a perspective grounded in the Bible. As commentators worry about the decline in Biblical literacy, the remaining Christian Scots feel confident in their Biblical viewpoints. However, there is a good deal of variation across the churches. The Church of Scotland shows the least confidence (49.5%) and Christians in the Free Church feel the most equipped to speak on issues affecting Scotland from a Biblical perspective (69.8%).
Some Christians Are Reluctant to Share their Faith Because of Negative Reactions
In addition to being equipped, the survey measured personal reluctance to share faith – an opposite and more negatively framed question. Christian respondents were asked if they are reluctant to speak about their faith because of the possibility of a negative reaction. 43.3 percent of Christians disagreed or strongly disagreed in being reluctant due to fear of reprisals. So, while the vast majority of Christians feel equipped to speak about their faith, fewer are willing to do so when fearing reprisal as a result. This question revealed greater dispersion amongst Christians with a clear majority of respondents indicating neutrality or mild agreement/disagreement to being reluctant to share faith in fear of negative reactions.
Similar patterns are manifest across church affiliations with individuals within the Free Church expressing the most reluctance. Catholic Scots consistently are the most confident in speaking about their faith with others both in terms of feeling equipped and being less reluctant to self-censor due to fears of negative reactions.
Christians Think Others are Reluctant
If many Christians feel equipped and ready to share their faith, why does it seem that too few do? We now know that Christians believe others are reluctant to share their faith. Indeed, 66.7 percent of Christians believe others are reluctant to share their faith. And when asked if they agreed Christians are reluctant to share their faith, fewer than 10 percent of Christians disagreed. This is a surprising finding given that we now know a majority of Christians feel individually equipped and only a minority are personally reluctant to speak about their faith. It may be that a self fulfilling prophecy is at work. Even if the individual feels confident, they may be less prone to speak about their faith if they believe others are reluctant. No one wants to be alone in speaking from their faith identity in public, and thus, a joint perception of others’ reluctance may paradoxically cause the most equipped and ready Christian to become individually reluctant.
Interestingly, non-Christians do not think Christians are reluctant to share their faith in public spaces. When non-Christian respondents were asked of Christians were reluctant to share their faith in public, only 21.8 percent agreed that Christians were reluctant, and 42 percent disagreed.
Christians Are Ready to Engage the Public Square
Christians in Scotland are remarkable. Church attendance may have fallen dramatically since 1984, but congregant engagement is incredibly high. Over 80 percent of Christian respondents say they go to their church at least one time each week. That type of committed church engagement is uncommon in many other countries. What is more, Christians feel trained to speak about their personal faith and to address issues in contemporary Scottish politics from a Biblical perspective. The Scottish church has played an important role in developing the freedom and civility which undergird the public square. But far too Christians avail themselves of these freedoms to enter public spaces and represent their faith-based identities. It is not that Christians are ill-prepared nor timid, but their very belief in others being reluctant leads to a general retreat from public thought and conversation. Thankfully, we can use data to dismantle myths of timidity and Biblical illiteracy across Scottish churches. Christians are able and ready to speak about their faith with others and to join conversations on important societal topics. It is time for each congregation to believe other churches are standing as faithful presences within their communities. The first step in entering the public square is believing you will find other Christians already in the space and trusting many more will follow.