1 November 2013

'Sectarianism: A Scottish Problem?' - the 2013 Margaret Harris Lecture on Religion

Is sectarianism, as former First Minister Jack McConnell once claimed, really Scotland's shame, or have media coverage, legislation and other factors distorted the situation to the level of caricature?

Professor Tom Devine, one of Scotland's leading historians, will examine the subject in an attempt to answer that question when he gives the University of Dundee's annual Margaret Harris Lecture on Religion on Wednesday, 27th November.

Described in The Times as being 'as close to a national bard as the nation has', Professor Devine has written and talked extensively about sectarianism in Scotland over the past four decades. In his Dundee lecture, he will explore the historical context of sectarianism in Scotland before grappling with the complex issues which have arisen in more recent times.

'The Scottish Government has concluded that sectarianism is a significant social problem in the modern nation,' he said. 'Scotland is the only jurisdiction in the developed world, apart from Northern Ireland, which currently has anti-sectarian legislation on the statute book.

'It generously funds anti-sectarian charities and has commissioned a year-long enquiry into the problem which has just completed its deliberations. Opinion, however, is divided whether these concerns truly reflect reality or exaggerate to the point of mythology.'

Professor Devine is the author or editor of 34 books and close to 100 articles on topics as diverse as emigration, famine, identity, transatlantic commercial links, urban history, the economic history of Scotland, the Scottish Highlands, the Irish in Scotland, the Anglo-Scottish Union, the Scottish diaspora and comparative Irish and Scottish relationships.

His academic career saw him hold prestigious positions at several universities and head up distinguished research programmes. He is currently a Personal Senior Research Chair of History at the University of Edinburgh.

The Margaret Harris Lecture was instituted in 1965 and named after an early benefactress of University College Dundee. The estate of Miss Margaret Harris (1815-1894) endowed the first chair of physics and more recently, in 1973, the Chaplaincy Centre at the University. The scope of the lectures has encompassed religion in the broadest sense, including faiths other than Christianity.

The 2013 Margaret Harris Lecture, 'Sectarianism: A Scottish Problem?' takes place at the University's Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill from 6pm on Wednesday, 27th November.

Admission is free, and tickets are available from www.dundee.ac.uk/tickets or 01382 385564. A drinks reception follows this event, for which there may be overflow theatres in operation.

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Grant Hill
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University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
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