“Out in the Open in a Threatening World”: The Scottish Churches’ Industrial Mission 1960–1980

Abstract

SummaryBy combining archival research with the oral testimony of ex-industrial chaplains – and others with direct experience of industrial mission – this article explores a neglected dimension of religious outreach, and attempts to provide a nuanced interpretation of the interrelationship between de-industrialization and secularization in post-1960 Britain. By 1965, over 100 industrial chaplains operated throughout industrial Scotland across a range of industries. Functioning at the cutting edge of the Kirk’s efforts to halt what was clearly identified as a slide in faith, the chaplains were also perfectly placed to bear witness to Scotland’s traumatic and painful process of de-industrialization. Historians agree that the correlation between falling church attendances and religious belief is problematic, and this case study presents clear evidence that “discursive Christianity” remained significant in Scotland well into the 1980s. However, this research also highlights that institutional religion was far from passive in the face of secularization, and that the very presence of chaplains in the workplaces helped bolster the credibility of religion in a secularizing society.