The Secretarian Myth in Scotland : Of Bitter Memory and Bigotry

The question of sectarianism in Scotland belongs within a wider framework than it has hitherto been placed. It offers insights into continuing, indeed pressing, debates about religious identity and civil and political society in the modern world. This book questions the view that religion and politics do not, and cannot, mix in pluralistic, tolerant and increasingly secular societies, and reveals that memories - bitter memories - can outlive, and obscure, the demise of actual conflict. This Book Offers A Systematic And Critical Engagement With 'sectarianism' In Twentieth-century Scotland. Stepping Back From The Received Wisdom Regarding Protestant-catholic Relations, It Argues That Modern Scotland Is Not Characterised By Sharp Cleavages Across Religious Lines. Differences Between Protestant And Catholic In Several Key Areas Of Scottish Political Life Have Been Grossly Overplayed - Scotland Is By No Means 'ulster Without The Guns'.--book Jacket. 1. Introduction -- 2. 'sectarianism' In Modern Scotland -- 3. Secularisation And 'sectarianism' -- 4. Religion And Politics In Contemporary Scotland -- 5. 'the Rising Tide Of Paganism' -- 6. 'dumb Dogs' And 'bonneted Chieftains' -- 7. 'a Happy Solution To A Difficult Problem' -- 8. 'the Reformation Must Be Fought Again' -- 9. 'reality Is Always A Little More Complex' -- App. Logistic Regression Models. Michael Rosie. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 166-177) And Index. This book offers a systematic and critical engagement with 'sectarianism' in twentieth century Scotland. Stepping back from the received wisdom regarding Protestant-Catholic relations, it argues that modern Scotland is not characterized by sharp cleavages across religious lines. Differences between Protestant and Catholic in several key areas of Scottish political life have been grossly overplayed - Scotland is by no means 'Ulster without the guns'. Scotland is not a sectarian country and the Scottish past was not sectarian in the way many have claimed it to be. The question of religion in Scotland belongs within a wider debate than it has hitherto been placed. This study reveals the fact that memories - bitter memories - can outlive, and obscure, the demise of any basis in social reality Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction....Pages 1-7 ‘Sectarianism’ in Modern Scotland....Pages 8-27 Secularisation and ‘Sectarianism’....Pages 28-48 Religion and Politics in Contemporary Scotland....Pages 49-71 ‘The Rising Tide of Paganism’....Pages 72-88 ‘Dumb Dogs’ and ‘Bonneted Chieftains’....Pages 89-106 ‘A Happy Solution to a Difficult Problem’....Pages 107-125 ‘The Reformation must be Fought Again’....Pages 126-143 ‘Reality is Always a Little More Complex’....Pages 144-150 Back Matter....Pages 151-184 Annotation The question of sectarianism in Scotland belongs within a wider framework than it has hitherto been placed. It offers insights into continuing, indeed pressing, debates about religious identity and civil and political society in the modern world. This book questions the view that religion and politics do not, and cannot, mix in pluralistic, tolerant and increasingly secular societies, and reveals that memories--bitter memories--can outlive and obscure the demise of actual conflict Rosie (sociology, U. of Edinburgh) examines the division or conflict between Catholics and Protestants in modern Scotland. He finds that it is viewed with unease, as evidence that the country is unworthy of modern nationhood at least yet, and as a pathology somehow exclusive to Scotland and Ireland. Among his perspectives are secularization and sec