Religion by Country
Religion in Scotland: Statistics, Demographics & Trends
For the first time in its census history, most people in Scotland say they have no religion.
Quick answer
In Scotland’s 2022 census, 51.1% of people said they had no religion, up from 36.7% in 2011. The Church of Scotland was the largest religious group at 20.4% (down from 32.4%), followed by Roman Catholic (13.3%), Other Christian (5.1%) and Muslim (2.2%). 6.2% did not answer the question.
- Largest group
- No religion — 51.1%
- Largest religion
- Church of Scotland — 20.4%
- Largest minority faith
- Islam — 2.2%
- Data source
- Scotland’s Census 2022 (NRS)
- Reference year
- 2022
Scotland at a glance
Scotland crossed a symbolic line in its most recent census. For the first time, a majority of people said they had no religion: 51.1% in 2022, up from 36.7% in 2011 (Scotland’s Census, 21 May 2024 release). The Church of Scotland, the country’s national church, fell from 32.4% to 20.4% over the same period. Roman Catholics (13.3%) are now the second-largest religious group, followed by other Christian denominations (5.1%) and Muslims (2.2%).
Scotland runs its own census through National Records of Scotland (NRS), separately from England and Wales, and asks its own version of the religion question. That makes it one of the few places in the United Kingdom where the size of individual Christian denominations is still measured directly, rather than grouped together as “Christian”.
| Religion | Share |
|---|---|
| No religion | 51.1% |
| Church of Scotland | 20.4% |
| Roman Catholic | 13.3% |
| Other Christian | 5.1% |
| Muslim | 2.2% |
| All other religions (remainder) | ≈ 1.7% |
| Not stated | 6.2% |
The major religious groups
No religion (51.1%) is now the majority response. The shift has been steady rather than sudden: the no-religion share was 27.5% in 2001 and 36.7% in 2011 (2011 Census at a glance: religion), before passing half the population in 2022. Men were more likely than women to report no religion (53.8% compared with 48.6%) (Scotland’s Census 2022 topic report).
Church of Scotland (20.4%) remains the largest single religious group, but it has lost more ground than any other. In 2011 some 1,717,871 people identified with it; by 2022 it accounted for roughly one person in five. The Church of Scotland is Presbyterian: it is governed through a system of elders and church courts rather than bishops.
Roman Catholics (13.3%) have declined more slowly. NRS reports that the number of people identifying as Roman Catholic fell by 117,700 between 2011 and 2022 (Scotland’s Census 2022 topic report). Catholic identity is geographically concentrated in west-central Scotland; in Inverclyde, Roman Catholic (33.4%) was the most common response in 2022, the only council area where that was the case.
Other Christian (5.1%) covers a wide range of churches, including Episcopal, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, Orthodox and independent congregations, as well as smaller Presbyterian churches that separated from the Church of Scotland at various points in its history.
Muslims (2.2%) form the largest non-Christian religious group, and are the fastest-growing in absolute terms. NRS reports an increase of 43,100 people identifying as Muslim between 2011 and 2022 (Scotland’s Census 2022 topic report); the Muslim share was 1.4% in 2011.
Smaller faith communities
Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish, Pagan and other religious groups together account for roughly 1.7% of the population, the remainder once the larger categories and non-responses are accounted for. NRS has published specific figures for two of these communities, because in both cases the religion question alone understates the population (NRS note on the Jewish and Sikh populations):
- Jewish: 5,847 people gave their religion as Jewish. A further 1,466 identified as Jewish through the ethnic group question only, giving a combined Jewish population of 7,313.
- Sikh: 10,988 people gave their religion as Sikh, and a further 247 identified as Sikh by ethnic group only, giving a combined figure of 11,235.
The approach reflects stakeholder feedback to NRS that both questions were needed “to provide more complete information on the Jewish and Sikh populations in Scotland”. Some people who are Jewish or Sikh by heritage describe their religion as “none”, or do not answer the religion question at all.
Age, sex and place
The move away from religious identification is not only a story about the young. According to NRS, the no-religion share rose in every age group between 2011 and 2022, and the largest proportional change was among people aged 65 and over, where it more than doubled from 14.1% to 28.6% (Scotland’s Census 2022 topic report). Younger age groups remain the least religious, but older Scots are now changing too.
Geography still matters. In 2022 “no religion” was the most common response across most of the country. The two exceptions were Na h-Eileanan Siar (the Western Isles), where the Church of Scotland was most common at 35.3%, and Inverclyde, where Roman Catholic was most common at 33.4% (Scotland’s Census 2022 topic report). Both reflect long-standing local patterns: strong Presbyterian traditions in the islands, and the historic Catholic communities of the industrial west.
| Group | 2011 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| No religion | 36.7% | 51.1% |
| Church of Scotland | 32.4% | 20.4% |
| Muslim | 1.4% | 2.2% |
| Religion not stated | 7% | 6.2% |
The national church and the state
Scotland’s religious history is dominated by the Reformation of 1560, which created a Protestant, and eventually Presbyterian, national church. That church’s position was protected in the Treaty of Union of 1707, which joined Scotland and England while leaving their churches separate.
The Church of Scotland’s modern constitutional position rests on the Church of Scotland Act 1921 and the Articles Declaratory scheduled to it (Church of Scotland Act 1921, Schedule). The Articles describe it as “a national Church representative of the Christian Faith of the Scottish people”, with a duty to bring “the ordinances of religion to the people in every parish of Scotland through a territorial ministry”. They also state that in spiritual matters the Church is “subject to no civil authority”. This is why the Church of Scotland is usually described as a national church rather than an established one in the English sense: the monarch is not its Supreme Governor, and its ministers and General Assembly govern its own affairs. For comparison with the Church of England, see our page on religion in the United Kingdom.
How Scotland measures religion
The 2022 census asked: “What religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?” (religion question metadata). Response options were None, Church of Scotland, Roman Catholic, Other Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish, Pagan and Another religion. The question is voluntary, and 6.2% of people did not answer it in 2022, compared with 7% in 2011.
Three points matter when comparing Scotland with other places:
- It measures belonging, not belief or practice. A person can tick “Church of Scotland” without attending church, and someone with private beliefs can tick “None”.
- It separates Christian denominations. The England and Wales census uses a single “Christian” category, so Scottish denominational figures have no direct equivalent south of the border.
- The categories changed slightly. NRS notes that the 2022 question was similar to 2011, with “Pagan” added as a response option.
Because Scotland and Northern Ireland run separate censuses, any “UK-wide” religion figure combines three different collections with different questions. For the wider European picture, see religion in Ireland and religion in the Netherlands, which have followed a similar secularising path.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main religion in Scotland?
Most people in Scotland now say they have no religion: 51.1% in the 2022 census. Among religious groups, the Church of Scotland is the largest at 20.4%, followed by Roman Catholics at 13.3%.
Is Scotland a Christian country?
Scotland has a Christian heritage and a national church, the Church of Scotland, but in 2022 fewer than half of residents identified with any Christian denomination. Church of Scotland, Roman Catholic and Other Christian together came to 38.8%.
Does Scotland have an established church?
The Church of Scotland is described in the Church of Scotland Act 1921 as a national church, but it is not established in the way the Church of England is. It governs its own spiritual affairs and is “subject to no civil authority” in those matters.
How many Muslims live in Scotland?
Muslims made up 2.2% of Scotland’s population in 2022, up from 1.4% in 2011. National Records of Scotland reports an increase of 43,100 people identifying as Muslim over that period.
When were the Scottish census religion results published?
National Records of Scotland published the 2022 census results on religion, ethnic group, language and national identity on 21 May 2024.
Sources & methodology
All figures are from the 2011 and 2022 censuses conducted by National Records of Scotland (NRS). The census asks about religious belonging, is voluntary, and covers everyone resident in Scotland. The “other religions” share is calculated as the remainder of the published categories and may differ slightly from NRS tables because of rounding.
- National Records of Scotland, Scotland’s Census, 21 May 2024 release.
- National Records of Scotland, Scotland’s Census 2022 topic report.
- National Records of Scotland, religion question metadata.
- National Records of Scotland, NRS note on the Jewish and Sikh populations (27 November 2024).
- National Records of Scotland, 2011 Census at a glance: religion.
- UK legislation, Church of Scotland Act 1921, Schedule.