Church Politics

Figures released by the Scottish Government yesterday - confirm what everyone knew already - that sectarian behaviour and violence is a big problem in our society.

The number of religious hate crimes recorded rose by 10% in the past year - with Roman Catholics being  on the receiving end of most of the 693 recorded incidents - which represent a four-year high. 

The government's data shows that of the recorded crimes:

58% were against Catholics
37% were against Protestants
2.3% were against people from the Jewish faith
2.1% were against Muslims

So that leaves 0.6% - who presumably did not declare a religious affiliation - even if their attackers had other ideas about which tribe their victims came from - and so attacked them anyway.

The figures also showed that religious hate crimes are widespread - being recorded in 27 out of Scotland's 32 local authority areas with the majority.

But predictably 79% - almost 4 in every 5 - take place in the Strathclyde police force area - with more than half (51%) coming from Glasgow alone.

And even more predictably - over 60% of cases involved the consumption alcohol.

Now these figures make interesting reading and ought to inform the debate about how best to tackle sectarian behaviour - without scoring points.

But a Catholic bishop - Bishop Tartaglia - was quick to claim 'victim' status for his flock - with the following comment:

"Catholics will take little comfort from the fact that they were previously five times more likely to suffer a sectarian attack than anyone else and are now 4.5 times more likely.

Since Catholics represent just 16% of Scotland's population, the fact that they account for almost 60% of the victims of sectarian crime reflects poorly on modern Scotland and is an indicator of entrenched hostility on a worrying scale."

Now the majority of hate crimes are against Catholics - that is a fact - but presenting the argument in these terms is both ridiculous and dishonest - as if one side is of the religious divide is as pure as the driven snow.

While 16% of Scots are from a Catholic background - that's the picture across the whole of Scotland - whereas 79% of incidents take place in the Strathclyde Police Force area - which is much more mixed.

So the good bishop is trying to skew the debate - acting like a politician - instead probing the issues intelligently and carefully - in an effort to understand what is really going on.

That's the only way to target and tackle the problem effectively - Bishop Tartaglia - because scoring points just encourages an 'us and them' mentality.