Sectarianism in Glasgow

Sectarianism in Glasgow takes the form of religious and political sectarian rivalry between Roman Catholics and Protestants. It is reinforced by the fierce rivalry between Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C., the two Old Firm football clubs whose support was traditionally predominantly Catholic and Protestant respectively. Although a 2003 Survey from Glasgow City Council indicated that people clearly believe "sectarianism is still prevalent in Glasgow", members of the public appear divided on the strength of the relationship between football and sectarianism.

Originally, Scotland was a Roman Catholic country; however, after the Protestant and Scottish Reformations, Scotland adopted Presbyterianism (the Church of Scotland) as its state religion. Due to economic hardship, many Irish Catholic emigrants settled in the east end of Glasgow, leading to increased competition for employment and housing and, in some instances, antagonism and conflict between competing groups. In addition to this, rife religious discrimination and established social networks augmented the tension between Protestants and Catholics.

Deaths and serious assaults have been directly linked to sectarian tensions within the city. Many of these have occurred either before or after Old Firm football matches. The murder in 1996 of Mark Scott, a Celtic fan, by Jason Campbell resulted in the formation of the anti-sectarianism charity Nil By Mouth.

In June 2003, after the publication of the Scottish Executive's Action Plan on Tackling Sectarianism in Scotland, Section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 was implemented. This set out the situations when a criminal offence was aggravated by religious prejudice.

In 2004 and 2005, sectarian incidents reported to police in Scotland increased by 50% to 440 over 18 months. Scottish Government statistics showed that 64% of the 726 cases in the period were motivated by hatred against Catholics, and by hatred against Protestants in most of the remaining cases (31%).

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