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Sectarianism in Glasgow takes the form of religious and political sectarian rivalry between Roman Catholics and Protestants. There is evidence that in the 2000s, sectarianism still exists in certain segments of Glasgow's population, and is deeply rooted in the football culture of the city. It is reinforced by the fierce rivalry between the two Old Firm clubs: Rangers and Celtic.^[1]

Contents 1 Immigration 2 Football 3 Northern Ireland 4 See also 5 Footnotes

During the Scottish Reformation, Glasgow became throughly Protestant.^{[citation needed]} Roman Catholics gradually returned to the area, beginning with migrants from the Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland.^{[citation needed]} Subsequent to them, large numbers of Irish people began arriving. Today the majority of Roman Catholics in Glasgow are of Irish origin.^{[citation needed]} Other Catholic populations include eastern European peoples such as Lithuanians, Poles and also Italians. Many Protestants from Ulster have also migrated to Glasgow, bringing the culture and traditions of that community.^{[citation needed]} A significant influx of shipyard workers from Ireland occurred shortly before the First World War.^{[citation needed]}

Glasgow has constantly had a ferment of new groups: Jews, Highlanders, Italian Catholics, and more recently, immigrants of many faiths.^{[citation needed]} Although acceptance of other faiths in Glasgow is not universal, surveys comparing people's ideas about sectarianism with their actual day-to-day personal experience show that the perception of sectarianism is much stronger than its occurrence in reality, and that the city's problems with health, education and social deprivation are of much greater daily concern to most Glaswegians.^[2]

Today, overt sectarianism primarily manifests itself in, and is driven by, the rivalry between the supporters of Glasgow's two main football clubs, Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C., collectively known as the 'Old Firm' for their dominance of Scottish football.

There is a clear religious divide between the two clubs. 74% of Celtic supporters identify themselves as Catholic, whereas only 4% identify as Protestant; for Rangers fans, the figures are 5% and 65%, respectively. At Rangers' Ibrox Stadium, the Union Flag has pride of place, whilst at Celtic Park, the Flag of Ireland prevails.^[1]

There have been recent changes in the relationship between the two clubs in an attempt to defuse sectarianism. When Rangers signed the Roman Catholic Mo Johnston in 1989, demonstrations were held against the purchase.^[3] Although Johnston was not their first Catholic player, his signing paved the way for Rangers to sign more Catholic players, including Lorenzo Amoruso, who served as the club's captain. In addition, over the past decade both Celtic and Rangers have launched campaigns to stamp out sectarian violence and songs. Celtic's 'Bhoys Against Bigotry', Rangers' 'Pride Over Prejudice', and the cross-club 'Sense Over Sectarianism' campaigns attempted to reduce the connection between the Old Firm and sectarianism.^[4]

A Rangers spokesman used the term 90-minute bigot to dismiss the problem of religious bigotry among supporters of the two clubs, suggesting that anti-Catholic or anti-Protestant messages were limited to demonstrations during football matches and did not represent true sectarianism. ^[5]

Nevertheless, there has been a rise in sectarian abuse in the west of Scotland recently. Sectarian incidents reported to police (consisting mostly of verbal abuse) increased by 50%, with 64% of the 726 cases between January 1, 2004 and June 30, 2005 being motivated by hatred against Catholics, and most of the remaining percentage being motivated against Protestants.^[6]

The Orangemen of Glasgow (members of the Protestant Orange Lodges), parade through the city around the historic 12th July, playing flutes and drums and singing songs in a celebration of the victory of William of Orange's army over James Stuart's army at the Battle of the Boyne. These marches are often seen as a source of tension (and are now subject to stricter controls as a result)^[7], with each side accusing the other of supporting Northern Ireland-based paramilitary groups like the Irish Republican Army and Ulster Defence Association.^{[citation needed]} In 1997, a Protestant man, called Jason Campbell, was convicted of the murder of a Catholic teenager; after conviction, Campbell applied to be transferred to The Maze prison in Northern Ireland, but this was turned down.^[8]

Republican marches use much the same format to commemorate various important dates in the history of Irish Republicanism such as the Irish Rebellion of 1798 and the 1981 Hungerstrikes. The main organisation is Cairde Na hEireann, which claims to represents the Irish community of Britain. The organisation has bands associated with it and marches on the anniversaries of events in the republican calendar. They were recently banned by Ayr council from marching on police advice. Another organisation who march is the West Of Scotland Band Alliance who have split from Cairde Na hEireann.

• Sectarian violence