Unionism, Nationalism and the Scottish Catholic Periphery, 1850–1930

Abstract

This article investigates the relationship between nationalism, unionism and Catholicism between 1850 and 1930 and proposes that ideas about the Scottish nation and national identity had a strong connection with the re-emergence and development of Catholicism. The presence of a large Irish-born and Irish-descended Catholic population meant that although there was a peripheral sensitivity to Ireland and an intellectual curiosity with Home Rule, indigenous Catholics remained deeply committed to the Scottish nation within the British state. A majority of Catholics in Scotland saw themselves as loyal British subjects, as nation builders and as the ambassadors of an imperial ideal. Understanding how Catholic identity was defined and how far this influenced, or was influenced by, the construction of a national identity is critical for achieving an understanding of the complexities of nationalism in Scotland. The parallels that exist between Catholicism's position on the periphery of Scottish society and Scotland's status within Britain is an overarching theme in this article that focuses on a period of intense national self-reflection and identity construction.

Education, employment and school religious denomination in Scotland in the 1950s

“…At the beginning of the century, Scottish Catholics were of relatively low social status, reflecting their to low-skilled jobs mainly in central Scotland. Only a small minority were in communities that had been continuously Catholic since the Reformation, mainly in some parts of the north-east, the north-western Highland and some of the southern islands off the north-west coast (Brown, 1997, p. 31;Kehoe, 2011).…”