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.

A multidisciplinary analysis of sectarianism and bigotry in Scottish football Sectarianism and bigotry are among the most publicly debated issues in Scotland, often reported in the newspapers as the "e;shame"e; of Scotland's national game. The current crisis in Scottish football includes high profile controversies and disorder related to bigotry and sectarianism which resulted in new legislation to tackle offensive behaviour in and beyond football grounds. In this collection, contributors from a range of disciplinary positions present the latest empirical research evidence and social theory to examine and debate fundamental issues about bigotry in Scottish football and society. The topic has raised many questions. How should sectarianism and bigotry be defined and understood? What are the experiences and impacts of bigotry on different populations in Scotland? Are recent events unique or do they have historic precedents and contemporary comparisons beyond Scotland? What should be the response of government, football authorities, clubs, football supporters and other institutions and organisations in Scotland regarding legislation? What vision should we have for a future Scottish society and its diverse population? Bigotry, Football and Scotland will appeal to all those interested in Scotland's national game, the role of football in the 21st Century and how multicultural contemporary societies attempt to resolve prejudice and promote diversity.

Liverpool Sectarianism: the rise and demise is a fascinating study that considers the causes and effects of sectarianism in Liverpool, how and why sectarian tensions subsided in the city and what sectarianism was in a Liverpool context, as well as offering a definition of the term 'sectarianism' itself. By positioning Liverpool amongst other 'sectarian cities' in Britain, specifically Belfast and Glasgow, this book considers the social, political, theological, and ethnic chasm which gripped Liverpool for the best part of two centuries, building upon what has already been written in terms of the origins and development of sectarianism, but also adds new dimensions through original research and interviews. In doing, the author challenges some longstanding perceptions about the nature of Liverpool sectarianism; most notably, in its denial of the supposed association between football and sectarianism in the city. The book then assesses why sectarianism, having been so central to Liverpool life, began to fade, exploring several explanations such as secularism, slum clearance, cultural change, as well as displacement by other pastimes, notably football. In analysing the validity of these explanations, key figures in the Orange Order and the Catholic Church offer their viewpoints. Each chapter examines a different dimension of Liverpool's divided past. Topics which feature prominently in the book are Irish immigration, Orangeism, religion, politics, racism, football, and the advance of the city's contemporary character, specifically, the development and significance of 'Scouse'. Ultimately, the book demonstrates how and why two competing identities (Irish Catholic and Lancastrian Protestant) developed into one overarching Scouse identity, which transcended seemingly insurmountable sectarian fault lines.

Crime, Justice and Society in Scotland is an edited collection of chapters from leading experts that builds and expands upon the success of the 2010 publication Criminal Justice in Scotland to offer a comprehensive and critical overview of Scottish criminal justice and its relation to wider social inequalities and social justice. This new volume considers criminal justice in the context of the Scottish politics and the recent referendum on independence and it includes a discussion of the complex relationships between criminal justice and devolution, nationalism and nation building. There are new chapters on research and policy, sectarianism, gangs, victims and justice, organised crime and crimes of the powerful in Scotland, as well as chapters reflecting on the use of electronic monitoring, desistance and practice, and major changes in the structure of Scottish policing. Comprehensive and topical, this book is essential reading for academics and students in the fields of criminal justice, criminology, law, social science and social policy. It will also be of interest to practitioners, researchers, policymakers, civil servants and politicians.

This book offers an innovative approach to the character of the intellectual life of Catholics in Scotland. It looks at Catholic attempts to fight the appeal of communism amongst the working classes in interwar Scotland, it analyses developments in the devotional life of Scottish Catholics and it discusses the unique theological contribution made by Scottish clerics. Chapters also explore the increasing presence of Catholics in Scotland in higher education and their role in shaping change within the Catholic Church. Finally, readers will have the opportunity to learn more about the previously under-researched Catholic Intelligentsia, and the debate within it on the place of Catholicism in the history of Scotland. The History of Catholic Intellectual Life in Scotland, 1918–1965 presents the domestic context of the changing character of Scottish Catholicism, as well as the context of changes in European Catholicism.

Vaughan renews perspectives on the changes brought about by Irish migrant communities in terms of identity, politics and religion. The book examines on the experience of generations of Irish migrants in the West of Scotland from the aftermath of the Great Famine until the creation of the Republic of Ireland.

Counting Religion in Britain, 1970-2020, the fourth volume in the author's chronological history of British secularization, sheds significant new light on the nature, scale, and timing of religious change in Britain during the past half-century, with particular reference to quantitative sources. Adopting a key performance indicators approach, twenty-one facets of personal religious belonging, behaving, and believing are examined, offering a much wider range of lenses through which the health of religion can be viewed and appraised than most contemporary scholarship. Summative analysis of these indicators, by means of a secularization dashboard, leads to a reaffirmation of the validity of secularization (in its descriptive sense) as the dominant narrative and direction of travel since 1970, while acknowledging that it is an incomplete process and without endorsing all aspects of the paradigmatic expression of secularization as a by-product of modernization.