Religion and attitudes towards alcohol use in the Western Isles

Research on religion and alcohol has produced conclusive results with regard to the relationship between religion and alcohol consumption but ambiguous findings with regard to more general attitudes towards alcohol use. This paper considers these issues in depth by a secondary analysis of data collected in the Western Isles of Scotland. It finds that differences between Protestants and Catholics do exist: Protestants are more likely to endorse an abstinent position, while Catholics are more permissive in their attitudes towards drinking. In terms of attitudes towards drunkenness, however, differences between the two groups are slight. The paper concludes by giving data on differences in attitudes towards alcoholism and service use and calls for future studies in the area to take the cultural context of these issues into account.