Most trouble linked to the Old Firm

Football is the source of the country’s sectarianism, a new report has found.

Other contributors are parades and social media which fuel unrest according to the YouthLink Scotland survey.

More than three quarters (76%) of respondents to the study said football was the largest factor behind religious prejudice while Orange Order marches (73%), Irish Republican marches (63%) and the internet and social media (63%) were also high on the list.

And a majority of people believe prejudice towards Catholics still exists in Scotland (68%) while 55% believed the same for Protestants.

More than a quarter thought there was little or no prejudice towards Catholics and 40% said held this belief for Protestants.

Around seven in 10 of the 670 respondents came across sectarian language on social media and a majority (72%) believed these posts cause harm to Scotland’s image or reputation.

Lisa Gallacher, Digital Development and Participation Officer at YouthLink Scotland: “The survey findings show that there is more work to be done on online sectarianism in Scotland.

“The majority of people think posting sectarian comments on social media causes harm to Scotland’s image and most people disagree that sectarian language online is ‘just banter.”