Scotland and the Union

Beyond Belief

There has been a ‘Great Britain’ for over 300 years but the union is now under threat. Part of what has held Scotland and England together is the fact that they have shared a monarch since 1603. But whilst the Queen holds the title 'Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England', she not not the Supreme Governor of the Church of Scotland. The two nations have different ecclesiastical arrangements. Anglicanism in Scotland is not very prominent whilst - until recently - the Presbyterian Church of Scotland dominated the religious landscape. Numbers in the Scottish Catholic Church have been maintained by immigration from Ireland and, more recently, from Eastern Europe but it too is in decline; whilst black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are growing in size and influence. Has the change in the religious landscape in Scotland had any influence on the move for political independence? And why do the religious bodies appear so reluctant to take a public stance in the debate about Scotland and the union?

Ernie Rea is joined by a panel which is split equally between pro and anti-union sentiments. Murdo Fraser is a Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament and a Patron of the Conservative Christian Fellowship; the Rev Scott Rennie is a Church of Scotland Minister in Aberdeen and a member of the Lib Dems; both are pro union. Angela Haggerty is a Catholic journalist and commentator and shares a pro independence position with Graham Campbell an SNP councillor on Glasgow City Council and a Rastafarian.