Religion in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

is diverse. Traditionally

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

with the city being represented by a number of denominations, particularly the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

through the Presbytery of Aberdeen and the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

faith. However, according to the 2001 census, Aberdeen is the least religious city in the country as

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, with nearly 43% of people claiming to have no religion. Liberal religion in Aberdeen and the North East of Scotland is represented through a Unitarian community and the city is also home to an Islamic

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

in Old Aberdeen and a small

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

congregation. The Hazelhead area holds a Thai

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple. There is no formal

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

building. The

University of Aberdeen , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

has a small society of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

Christianity

The largest denomination in the city (in terms of membership) is the

. The

's Presbytery of Aberdeen has 41 parish churches. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, Aberdeen contained houses of the Carmelites (Whitefriars) and

Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

( Greyfriars), the latter surviving in modified form as the chapel of Marischal College as late as the early 20th century. Also churches still in use today are located in the city centre including Bon Accord Free Church which is situated on Rosemount viaduct near His Majesty's Theatre and

Gilcomston South Church Gilcomston Church is an independent evangelical congregation, which meets in the church buildings on Union Street, Aberdeen. The congregation was formerly part of the Church of Scotland and known as Gilcomston South Church. Overview The churc ...

situated at the corner of Union Street and Summer Street. Many other churches in the city centre have been converted into bars and restaurants.

Kirk of St Nicholas

In the

there was only one burgh kirk - the

Kirk of St Nicholas The Kirk of St Nicholas is a historic church located in the city centre of Aberdeen, Scotland. Up until the dissolution of the congregation on 31 December 2020, it was known as the ''"Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting"''. It is also known as ''"The Mit ...

, one of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

's largest parish churches. Like a number of other Scottish kirks, it was subdivided after the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, in this case into the East and West churches. The Kirk of St Nicholas congregation is now an ecumenical partnership in membership of both the

and the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...

. The large

kirkyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...

of the Kirk of St Nicholas is separated from Union Street by a 147 ft (45 m) long Ionic façade, built in 1831. The divided church within, with a central tower and spire, forms one continuous building 220 ft (67 m) in length.

St Machar's Cathedral

The pre-Reformation

Diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

of Aberdeen is said to have been first founded at Mortlach in Banffshire by Máel Coluim II (1005–1034) to celebrate his victory there over the Danes, but in 1137

David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland ...

(1124–1153) transferred the

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

Old Aberdeen Old Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891. It ret ...

, and twenty years later St Machar's Cathedral was begun, a few hundred yards from the river Don. With the exception of the period of the episcopate of

William Elphinstone William Elphinstone (143125 October 1514) was a Scottish statesman, Bishop of Aberdeen and founder of the University of Aberdeen. Biography He was born in Glasgow. His father, also William Elphinstone, later became the first Dean of the Fa ...

(1484–1511), building progressed slowly. Gavin Dunbar, who followed him in 1518, completed the structure by adding the two western spires and the southern transept. The church suffered severely at the

, but is still used by the

as a parish church.

St Mary's Cathedral

St Mary's Cathedral is the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

cathedral. A Gothic Revival building, it was erected in 1859.

St. Andrew's Cathedral

St. Andrew's Cathedral is the Scottish Episcopal Cathedral. It was constructed in 1817, as St Andrew's Chapel, and was Archibald Simpson's first commission. The church was raised to Cathedral status in 1914. The Episcopal Church in Aberdeen is notable for having consecrated the first bishop of the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...

, Samuel Seabury. The cathedral was renovated in the 1930s to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Seabury's consecration. The memorial was dedicated with a ceremony attended by the then US ambassador to the UK, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.

Other Churches

Belmont street at the turn of the 19th century was better known as Holy Street as crowds would file out of six churches set over the 400 metre road. The last remaining church congregation in Belmont Street has now moved to Union Square Sout
Christ Central
Triple Kirks pub, The Academy Shopping mall, Neptune Night Club, and Slain's Castle theme pub is all that remains of the 19th-century traditional church. Ironically the last church to be in Belmont Street was the charismatic newfrontiers church, Christ Central, which met in the Belmont Picturehouse. On Justice Street, is the category B listed St Peter's Roman Catholic Church which opened in 1804.

Gallery

Image:St Nicholas Kirk.jpg, Kirk of St Nicholas Image:Aberdeen Saint Mark.jpg, Saint Mark's Church Image:Aberdeen Church ruin.jpg, Triple Kirks, abandoned File:Gilcomston South Church, Aberdeen.jpeg, Gilcomston South Church

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Religion In Aberdeen Religion in Aberdeen,