Religion

The Church of Scotland (or The Kirk) is the national church. It differs from the Church of England in that it has a Presbyterian form of church governance, not state control.

This goes back to the Scottish experience of reformation, initiated in 1560 by John Knox. The Scottish Reformation in essence took place at a grassroots level, and the Scots chose Presbyterian- ism as their method of church government. This differs from the situation in England, where Henry the Eighth personally supervised the English Ref­ormation and chose the Episcopal system that sur­vives to this day in the Church of England.

Right is a detail from a portrait of John Knox at the High Kirk of St. Giles in Edinburgh.

As well as The Kirk there are various other Protestant churches, including the Scottish Episcopal Church, which forms a full part of the Anglican Communion, and the Free Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian off-shoot from the established Church of Scotland.

Below are the results of the 2001 National census, showing the anwer to the question on religion. It is unusual for 28 % of a country to declare themselves athe­istic or agnostic.

3.6 Mass media

Scotland has distinct mass media from the rest of the UK. For example, it pro­duces many national newspapers such as The Daily Record (Scotland's leading tab­loid) and the two major broadsheets, The Herald based in Glasgow, and The Scots­man in Edinburgh. The Herald, formerly known as the Glasgow Herald, changed its name to promote a national rather than a regional identity. Sunday newspapers include the tabloid Sunday Mail (published by the Daily Record) and the Sunday Post, while the Sunday Herald and Scotland on Sunday have associations with The Herald and The Scotsman respectively. There are also many regional dailies.

D. C. Thomson & Co. Ltd, is a Dundee-based publishing company that was established by David Couper Thomson in 1905. The company produces more than 200 million comic books, magazines, and newspapers every year from offices in Dundee, Glasgow, Manchester and London. The company is notable for its con­servatism. Indeed, Thomson vigorously opposed the introduction of trade unions into his work-force and he denied employment to people of the Roman Catholic faith. As of 2003 the company employed around 2,000 workers.

Scotland has its own BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) services which include the national radio stations, BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Gaelic language service. There are also a number of BBC and independent local radio stations throughout the country. In addition to radio, BBC Scotland also runs two national television stations.

Much of the output of BBC Scotland Television, such as news and current affairs programmes, and the Glasgow-based soap opera, River City, is intended for broadcast within Scotland. Sports coverage also differs, reflecting the fact that the country has its own football leagues, separate from those of England. Televi­sion programmes broadcast in Scots Gaelic on the BBC and on the ITV commercial channels are usually subtitled in English.

Three Independent Television stations, Scottish TV, Grampian TV and Border, also broadcast in Scotland. Although they previously had independent existences, Scottish TV (serving the Central Lowlands) and Grampian (serving the Highlands and Islands) now belong to the same company (The Scottish Media Group) and resemble each other closely, apart from local news coverage. "Border" has had a more complex position, as it also has to serve neighbouring areas across the border in England, as well as the Isle of Man, and it now has separate news programs for each side of the border. Most of the independent television output equates to that transmitted in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the exception of news and current affairs, sport, cultural and Gaelic language programming.

Sport

Scotland has many national sporting associations, such as the Scottish Football Association (SFA) and the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU). This gives the country in­dependent representation at many international sporting events such as football's World Cup. Scotland cannot compete in the Olympic Games independently how­ever, and Scottish athletes must compete as part of the Great Britain team if they wish to take part. Scotland does however send its own team to compete in the Com­monwealth Games.

Scotland also has its own sporting competitions distinct from the rest of the UK, such as the Scottish Football League and the SRU.

3.7.1 Shinty

Shinty, also sometimes called shinny, or shin- ney, is an outdoors game played on grass with sticks called camans and a small, hard ball. Two opposing teams attempt to hit the ball through their opponents' goal; it is similar to the Irish game of hurling and to field hockey.

The game was possibly once used as a bat­tle-training exercise by Celtic warriors and then developed from the chaotic mass games between Scottish Highland clans at least as early as the 17th century.

Shinty right

It is played in Scotland today under the supervision of the Camanachd As­sociation (founded 1893), which considers it the 'national game' of Scotland, on a 150-metre long, 80-metre wide pitch. The ball is 17.7-20.32 cm in circumference and weighs 70-85 g. A team consists of 12 players, with one goalkeeper. A match is played over two halves of 45 minutes. With the exception of the keeper, no player is allowed to play the ball with his hands.

Golf is a sport with passionate devotees all over the world but mostly played by the rich in an elite environment. Americans especially may often compete more over who pays the highest membership fees of an exclusive Golf Club than compet­ing to win a round of golf. Scotland is an exception as people from all walks of life often play and enjoy the game. This makes golf in Scotland an ordinary person's participant sport and candidate for 'national game'.

The Scottish claim to having originated golf is based on three published refer­ences in Scottish Acts of Parliament from the second half of the 15th century.

In a resolution of the 14th Parliament, convened in Edinburgh on March 6, 1457, the games of football and golf ("futbawe and ye golf") were banned with a vengeance ("utterly cryt done"). This ban was repeated in 1471 when Parliament thought it "expedient [th]at...ye futbal and golf be abusit." In a resolution passed in 1491, football, golf, and other useless games were outlawed altogether ("fut bawis gouff or uthir sic unprofitable sports"). In addition, these texts encouraged the Scottish people to practice archery, a sport which might be put to good use in de­fending the country.

What seems indisputable is that the modern game evolved in the second half of the 19th century in Scotland. The rules of the game and the design of equipment and courses greatly resembled those of today. The major changes in equipment since then have been better mowers, especially for the greens, better golf ball de­signs, using rubber and man-made materials since about 1900, and the introduction of the metal shaft beginning in the 1930s. Also in the 1930s the wooden golf tee was invented. In the 1970s the use of metal to replace wood heads began, and shafts made of graphite composite materials were introduced in the 1980s.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews (or R&A for short) is not only one of the oldest golf clubs, but also the govern­ing body of golf in much of the world. It is based in St. Andrews, in Scotland, and seen as the home of golf.

The organisation was found­ed in 1754 as the Society of St An­drews Golfers, a local golf club playing at St Andrews Links but quickly grew in importance. 1 eft A poster from the 1920s

In 1834 King William IV became its patron and the club became known under its present name. In 1897 the Society codified the rules of golf, and was gradually over the next 30 years invited to take control of the running of golf tournaments at other events around the world.

The R&A is today the ruling authority of golf everywhere except the United States and Mexico, where this responsibility rests with the United States Golf As­sociation (USGA).

Highland games are traditional competitions originating in the Highland areas of Scotland and still held there and in other parts of the world where ex-patriate Scots have settled. The competitions are best known for traditional competitive athletic heavy events, highland dancing and pipe bands.

The best-known games are the ones held at Braemar, Lonach, Ballater and Aboyne. Although they can be dated back to the 11th century, there have been many long breaks and revivals. The Aboyne games have been running since 1867 without a break apart from the two world wars. There is a document from 1703 summoning the clan of the Lord of Grant. They are to arrive wearing highland coats and "also with gun, sword, pistill and dirk". From the probable intentions given in this letter, it is believed that the competitions would have included shooting and swordplay.

The major heavy events are the hammer throw, shot putt and tug-of war, to­gether with the unique caber toss.

The Caber toss is a traditional Scottish athlet­ic event involving the tossing of the caber, a large wooden pole. The word "caber" comes from Scot­tish Gaelic 'cabar'.

The caber is held vertically by one end and thrown so that it lands on the 'top' end and then falls forward, away from the thrower. The objective is not how far the caber is thrown, but to have the caber fall directly away from the thrower after land­ing. A perfect throw ends with the 'top' end nearest to the thrower and the 'bottom' end pointing exactly away from the thrower.

A traditional caber is around 5-6,5 m long and weighs around 40-60 kg. The size, and particularly the length, of the caber means that enormous strength is re­quired. For competitions involving less skilled athletes a shorter and/or lighter ca­ber is used.

Other events in Highland games include competitions of the regional pipe bands, solo bagpipe, and drum ma­jors. Celtic bands will also perform non-competitively in areas where beer is sold.

Dance competitions are held at Highland games, but until the 1970s women were forbidden to compete in "Hi­ghland Dances". The most common dance is the Highland Fling danced by males from about the 1700s, usually on a shield.

Depiction of a highland fling from late Victorian times left.

The Sword Dance is an old and powerful dance da­ting from the time of Malcolm, King of Scots. A victory dance, it is said that King Malcolm, after beating a foe, took their swords and, after crossing them on the grou­nd, danced jubilantly over them.

The dancers (right) each stand over a pair of cross­ed swords and balance on one foot while pointing the other leg over the blades. Every few steps they change to balance on the other leg. The tune used is a called a strathspey.

Sheepdog Herding trials and exhibitions are also often held, showcasing the breeders' and trainers' skills. At many games, armouries will display their collec­tions of swords and armour, and Historical Society members and other enthusiasts often perform mock battles. Various vendors selling Scottish memorabilia are also present selling everything from Irn Bru to the stuffed-toy likeness of the Loch Ness Monster.