Less than two months before the Scottish election on May 7, nearly half of Scottish Christians have no idea who they are going to vote for.
Their final decision could have a major impact on the outcome with their support for the major parties waning.
A new report suggests that many Christians in Scotland are “politically homeless”.
That’s a potential threat to the Scottish National Party (SNP) which has dominated Scottish politics for nearly 20 years, and is still ahead in the polls.
REPORT FINDS CHURCHGOERS ABANDONING RULING SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY
The report titled: “Faith and Public Life in Scotland: A National Assessment of Christian Political Identity and Public Engagement” found that support among churchgoers for the SNP had plunged from 35% in 2024 to just 13% today.
It revealed Christian support for the Conservatives has dropped by 9% while its support for Labour has eased by 6%.
Christian Today writes that the report claims Christians are generally quite engaged with society, but are “politically unsettled” and increasingly uncertain about who they should vote for.
CHRISTIAN SUPPORT FOR REFORM UK BUT MOST BELIEVERS DON’T KNOW WHO TO VOTE FOR
The main beneficiary of this Christian uncertainty seems to have been Reform UK which has surged from just 1% support among churchgoers to 14%.
Catholics and those attending free church denominations were more likely to support Reform.
However, the biggest change has been Christians who “don’t know” who they will support at the May election.
They have soared from 16% in 2024 to 42% two months out from polling day.
CHRISTIANS OVERWHELMINGLY DISILLUSIONED BY CURRENT SNP GOVERNMENT
The research conducted by think tank Logos Scotland found that the vast majority of Christians (72%) believe the current SNP minority government does not support Christian principles, while even higher numbers (81%) agreed that Christian politicians often received criticism for their faith.
A relatively recent example is devout Christian SNP MP Kate Forbes, who was heavily scrutinised for her Christian faith when she ran a close second for the leadership of the party and First Minister in 2023.
At the time many commentators claimed her successful rival, Humza Yousaf, faced far less scrutiny for his Islamic beliefs.
“THE CHRISTIAN VOTE COULD HAVE A BIG IMPACT”
Logos Scotland chief executive Shona Haslam observed: “There is a political vacuum when it comes to a values-based, socially left, economically right party where constitutional issues are not the primary concern.”
“When you have parties polling this closely with such a large “don’t know” element, then the outcome of the election looks more up in the air than some polls might suggest.”
“The Christian vote shifting to this extent, particularly in some remote rural constituencies could have a big impact.”
“It will depend on where the electorate lands and whether they turn out to vote.”
MORE PARTIES MAY CLAIM TO STAND FOR CHRISTIAN VALUES
“This poll shows that the political space that exists among this sizeable Christian demographic could make a big difference in certain parts of Scotland,” continued Ms. Haslam.
She noted that Reform claiming to stand for Christian values may have helped their polling among churchgoers.
The Logos Scotland chief believes that may encourage other parties to do the same.
KEY FINDINGS FROM THE REPORT
1. Political Uncertainty Has Increased Dramatically – with a significant weakening of partisan attachment among engaged Christians.
2. Church Affiliation Matters – Political affiliation varies meaningfully across church traditions, yet no denomination forms a cohesive political voting bloc. Scottish Christianity is politically heterogeneous.
3. Education Is Not a Primary Driver – Educational attainment does not strongly predict political affiliation within this sample.
4. Gender Shapes Party Support, Not Political Certainty – Men are disproportionately represented among certain party supporters, but uncertainty is broadly distributed across genders.
5. Political Uncertainty Is Cross-Generational – High levels of indecision appear across all age cohorts, indicating widespread volatility.
6. Strong Perception of Government Misalignment – A majority of respondents perceive misalignment between government policy and Christian principles.
7. Confidence in Public Faith Engagement Remains High – Despite political uncertainty, most respondents report strong confidence in publicly articulating their faith.
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