ReligionThe Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian denomination, is the official state church. The Roman Catholic church is second in importance. Other leading denominations are the Episcopal Church in Scotland, Congregationalist, Baptist, Methodist, and Unitarian. Jews are a small minority. The Church of Scotland was organized during the Reformation in Scotland, and is also called the Auld Kirk (Scot., "Old Church"). Calvinist in doctrine and Presbyterian in polity, the Church of Scotland numbers among its communicants the majority of Presbyterians in Scotland. HistoryThe earliest step toward the establishment of the Protestant faith in Scotland was the drawing up of the First Covenant, otherwise known as the Congregation of the Lord, signed at Edinburgh on December 3, 1557. In 1560, following the deposition of Mary of Guise, the Roman Catholic regent of Scotland, the Scottish Parliament abolished the Roman Catholic form of worship and ratified the so-called Scots Confession, a confession of faith composed for the most part by the Scottish reformer John Knox and resembling the Confessions adopted by the Reformed churches on the Continent. Knox likewise took the lead in drafting the First Book of Discipline (1560), a comprehensive constitution for the Scottish reformed church. On December 20, 1560, the first general assembly of the Church of Scotland was convened in Edinburgh. As a result of the efforts of Knox and another religious reformer, Andrew Melville, Presbyterian Calvinism was recognized as the established religion of Scotland. The Second Book of Discipline was adopted in 1577. In 1592 the Scottish king, James VI, later King James I of Great Britain, consented to the passage by the Scottish Parliament of the so-called Golden Act, which gave legal standing to the Presbyterian ecclesiastical courts and revoked the king's absolute jurisdiction over church government. After the union (1603) of the crowns of Scotland and Great Britain, however, James took steps to reimpose his episcopal authority on his Scottish subjects. In this policy he was followed by his successors Charles I, Charles II, and James II. During the English Revolution the Scottish Presbyterians and English Presbyterians joined forces. In 1643 a body of English and Scottish Presbyterian clergymen, known as the Westminster Assembly, formulated the Westminster Standards, comprising the Westminster Confession and the Westminster Catechisms, which contains a clear and authoritative exposition of Calvinist theology and Presbyterian church government. The episcopal system, reestablished in the Church of Scotland in 1661, after the restoration of Charles II to the British throne, was again replaced by Presbyterianism as part of the Act of Settlement (1701), and the Westminster Standards were adopted. Formation of The Modern ChurchA number of dissident groups, objecting to the patronage system of church appointments and the worldliness of some church officials, broke away from the church in the 17th and 18th centuries. Among them were the Cameronians, who seceded in 1681 and later became known as the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Another dissident body, the Associate Presbytery, withdrew in 1733 and was reorganized (1745) as the Associate Synod and again (1842) as the Synod of United Original Seceders. Most of its members became affiliated in 1852 with the Free Church of Scotland. A third group, calling itself the Relief Presbytery (subsequently the Relief Synod), separated in 1761. In 1847 the Relief Synod joined with the United Secession, a coalition of seceding denominations, to form the United Presbyterian Church of Sctland. In 1900 the United Presbyterian Church merged with the Free Church which 29 years later was joined to the Church of Scotland. LanguageEnglish is generally spoken; fewer than 100,000 Scots (mainly inhabitants of the Highlands and island groups) also speak the Scottish form of Gaelic. EducationSchools in Scotland are administered by the Scottish Executive and by local education authorities. Elementary and Secondary SchoolsIn the mid-1980s some 879,000 pupils were attending publicly maintained schools and about 31,900 were in private schools. The transfer from elementary to secondary schools generally takes place at the age of 12. Universities and CollegesScotland has about 66 institutions providing programs of study beyond the secondary level for those students who do not go on to the universities. These include colleges of agriculture, art, commerce, and science, and in the mid-1980s the total enrolment was more than 81,000. Teacher-training colleges numbered seven, with approximately 3000 students. Of the universities in Scotland, the oldest (University of Aberdeen, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, and University of St. Andrews) were founded in the 15th and 16th centuries. PopulationThe people of Scotland, like those of Great Britain in general, are descendants of various racial stocks, including the Picts, Celts, Scandinavians, and Romans. Scotland is a mixed rural-industrial society. Scots divide themselves into Highlanders, who consider themselves of purer Celtic blood and retain a stronger feeling of the clan, and Lowlanders, who are largely of Teutonic blood. Population CharacteristicsThe population of Scotland was (1991 preliminary) 4,957,289. The population density was about 64 persons per km² (167 per sq miles). The highest density is in the Central Lowlands, where nearly three-quarters of the Scots live, and the lowest is in the Highlands. About two-thirds of the population are urban dwellers. Principal CitiesThe most populous city in Scotland (654,542) is Glasgow. The capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh (421,213) is the second largest city in Scotland. Other important industrial cities are Dundee (165,548) and Aberdeen (201,099). GlasgowGlasgow is the largest city and leading industrial centre of Scotland. It has an excellent harbour on the Clyde river and modern port facilities. Major imports include petroleum, grain, and timber; exports are largely manufactured goods. The city is located near important coalfields and is a major steel-producing centre. Other industries included shipbuilding and printing and the manufacture of textiles, carpets, aircraft engines, electronic equipment, chemicals, alcoholic beverages, and processed foods. The conurbation of Clydeside, which includes the cities of Glasgow and Clydebank, is the largest shipbuilding and marine engineering centre in Great Britain. Relatively few buildings in Glasgow predate the 18th century; the most prominent of these are Saint Mungo's Cathedral (begun about 1136 and completed in the mid-15th century) and Provand's Lordship (circa 1471), the city's oldest house. Glasgow is an educational centre; the University of Glasgow (1451), the University of Strathclyde (1796), the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (1847), Glasgow School of Art (1845), and several technical colleges are located here. The extensive collections of the Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries are among the finest in Great Britain. Also of note in the city are the Hunterian Museum (1807), the botanic gardens, and a zoo. Glasgow grew around a church built in the mid-6th century by St. Kentigern (also called St. Mungo), apostle to the Scots. In 1116 the town's church was rebuilt for the reconstituted episcopal see of Glasgow. The great commercial growth of the community dates from the union of Scotland with England in 1707. Glasgow obtained a large share of the American commerce and soon became a centre of the tobacco trade. The river was dredged to accommodate seagoing vessels. The tobacco trade ceased as a result of the American Revolution and was subsequently supplanted by cotton textile manufacture and the sugar trade with the West Indies. In the early 19th century, Glasgow began its growth as a major iron founding and shipbuilding centre. During World War II the city suffered some damage from German bombing. Slum clearance and urban redevelopment projects have been undertaken since the war. Population (1991 preliminary) 654,542. EdinburghEdinburgh is the second largest city in Scotland, after the industrial centre of Glasgow. It is the capital of Scotland, on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, and is Scotland's financial, cultural, educational, and service-industry hub. Among the city's manufacturers are paper, whisky, electrical and electronic equipment, food products, and chemicals. The printing and publishing industry was well established here by the 16th century. Edinburgh's port, at the communities of Leith and Granton, is a major service point for vessels associated with the North Sea petroleum industry. The principal imports are petroleum products, grain, ores, and wood; exports include whisky, steel, and fertilizer. The city is also one of the major tourist centres of Great Britain. Edinburgh's central dominating landmark is Edinburgh Castle, rising on sheer cliffs above the city. Located here is the 11th-century Chapel of Saint Margaret, the city's oldest structure. The Castle Rock is connected to the 16th-century royal Scottish residence of Holyrood Palace by a road known as the Royal Mile, the main thoroughfare of the Old Town district of the city. Other notable buildings in Old Town include Saint Giles, the National Church of Scotland (largely 15th century); the Parliament House, seat of the Scottish Parliament from its completion in 1639 until 1707; and the house of the 16th-century Protestant reformer John Knox. To the north of this district is New Town, which was developed in the late 18th century and contains many fine buildings designed by the Scottish architect Robert Adam. Separating the two districts is Princes Street Gardens, occupying the bed of a loch that was drained in 1816. Among Edinburgh's cultural institutions are the National Gallery of Scotland (1859), the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (1882), the Royal Scottish Museum (1854), and museums of modern art and Scottish history. The Edinburgh International Festival, held here annually since 1947, is a world-renowned arts festival. The University of Edinburgh (1583) is especially noted for its schools of medicine and law. Other educational institutions include Heriot-Watt University (1821), Edinburgh College of Art (1907), and colleges of architecture, technology, education, and theology. Castle Rock was occupied by the Picts about the 6th century AD. In the 11th century Malcolm III, king of Scotland, had his castle here, and his wife, St. Margaret, built a small church. King Robert Bruce granted Edinburgh a charter in 1329. The town became (1437) the national capital following the murder of James I, king of Scotland, at Perth, the former capital. Edinburgh lost much of its commercial and administrative importance in 1603 when James VI became James I, king of England, and departed for London. By the Act of Union with England (1707), the Scottish Parliament was dissolved. Edinburgh's expansion beyond its medieval boundaries to New Town was planned by the town council in 1767. During the 18th and 19th centuries the city flourished as a cultural centre; it was the home of, among others, the writers Robert Burns, James Boswell, and Sir Walter Scott and the philosophers Adam Smith and David Hume. The city's boundaries were expanded considerably in 1856 (when New Town was absorbed), 1900, and 1920. Before 1975 Edinburgh was the county town of the former county of Midlothian. Population (1991 preliminary) 421,213.
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