A Glance into St Andrews’ Religious Scene

I’m not religious, but I attended four church services this week. I walk past multiple historic churches every day and was curious: how many students attend church here? How do these churches engage with the community? And the first question I sought the answer to: are the majority of the worship spaces here Christian?

I spoke with the University’s Assistant Chaplain, Samantha Ferguson. She explained that the foundation of the University was built on Christianity. “It is overwhelmingly Christian,” Reverend Ferguson said. “We don’t stick to the trend of [the] universities in the rest of the UK. We are very Christian here in what we do and in our ethos within the Chaplaincy and our University chapels […] There are growing pockets of other faiths, and hopefully we support them as well as we can.”

The second week of November marked Interfaith Week, when the Chaplaincy puts on a series of events and lectures to broaden the discussion around inter-religious practices in St Andrews. I attended the opening lecture by Professor Emily Michelson, who also acts as the Honorary Lay Jewish Chaplain. In her address, she said, “The aims of Interfaith Week are strengthening good interfaith relations [on] all levels, increasing awareness of the different and distinct faith communities in the UK, and in particular, celebrating and building on the contribution which members make to their neighbourhoods and wider society and increasing understanding between people of religious and non-religious beliefs.”

Within the Chaplaincy — an office that aids students in finding a place of worship and offers a “listening service” for those needing spiritual and emotional guidance — there are chaplains of varying faiths, including Islam, Humanism, Paganism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Christianity. 

However, places of worship for non-Christians, which are listed on the Chaplaincy website, are typically located outside of St Andrews, such as in Dundee or Edinburgh. The Chaplaincy does, however, hold services for students of minority religions, and these students can also find community in the faith-based societies listed on the Union’s website.

Curious about the churches in town, I attended a few services. Late on a Wednesday night, I sat in a quaint prayer room with an elaborately designed altar, the page of a hymn book labelled “Compline” staring up at me, as four students quietly shuffled in, took their seats, and waited for the service to begin. I’d never actually experienced Compline, or the practice of singing evening prayers, but this intimate service, hosted by All Saints’ Church, revealed the dedication of my fellow congregants. 

Although there were only six of us — which made my lack of knowledge on when to bow, kneel, and turn the page painfully obvious — there was an overwhelming sense of community. After the service, the Reverend, Dr Alasdair Coles, introduced me to the other students in attendance, who enthusiastically spoke about the Church’s emphasis on sacramental worship and monasticism.

The Reverend explained that All Saints’, a 101-year-old Scottish Episcopal church, was originally constructed for the fisherfolk in town who could not afford the pew rents — a hierarchical fee congregants paid to sit in seats closest to the altar — of other local churches. This space, he said, has always been a community hub.

I asked Reverend Coles what he thought about the decline in religious affiliation amongst younger generations. He attributed this pattern to a few factors: secularism, suspicion of institutional life, individualism, and the pressures of not having enough time. He said religion has connected us with society throughout history and helps us engage with current-day challenges in a creative way.

“My experience is that places that offer traditional worship and try to have prayers that are heartfelt, not self-referential, and preaching that is intellectually engaging, not patronising, and have beautiful liturgy and beautiful music, those churches are growing,” Reverend Coles said. “And they'll be filled with people from every faith and no faith, because they find it nourishing. They won't necessarily agree with everything that's going on, but they value it.”

That same week, I attended an evening mass at St James’ Church, the Catholic parish of St Andrews, established in 1888. I sat in a back pew, watching as nearly 40 people sat in silent reverence. The priest led a service including Scripture reading, receiving the Eucharist, kneeling in prayer, and at one point, singing in Latin.

Monsignor Patrick Canon Burke said the church has 600 regular Sunday service attendees, a third of which are students. I wondered what he thought of the role of churches in our community. “St Andrews is quite a religious place, so I think that the churches have much more of an effect than you would imagine,” he said. “In modern Western society, one of the major problems is social isolation. A lot of social problems come out of people feeling isolated and alone, and so one of the major benefits of Christian churches is their capacity to create community and to build community.”

In the churches I visited, I heard about various community impact initiatives, like hosting Alcoholics Anonymous, grocery shopping for the unhoused, visiting nursing homes, raising funds for local charities, and hosting community support groups including grief and youth groups.

“There are all sorts of things that happen in all of the churches [in town] that have a huge cohesive effect in society,” Monsignor Burke said, “and if you were to deprive society of those things, you'd notice it pretty quickly. So when people need help or they’re looking for consolation or comfort in dark moments, they tend to gravitate to the churches, and the churches are here to offer a fairly profound service.”

This sense of community is something I noticed as I sat in a pew in St Salvator’s. With stained glass and golden light fixtures reigning over me, I took in the 500-year-old building, which operates as one of the two University chapels — St Leonard’s being the other.

The service, which happened to be the annual St Margaret lecture, incorporated the use of incense, a well-rehearsed performance from the choir, Scripture recitation, and the reception of Communion. What stood out to me was the number of students in attendance, many of whom wore their red robes, and how lively their fellowship was before and after service. I watched as congregants waved to each other across pews, hugged friends, and even greeted me, a complete stranger. 

Rounding out my week, I attended a service at the oldest church in town: Holy Trinity. Built in 1412 as a replacement for the original town church consecrated in 1139, Holy Trinity acted as the town’s parish for all 3,000 citizens. Reverend Marion Paton gave me a walking tour of the building, pointing out various artefacts the parish has kept throughout its storied history. Over the summer, the church is open for public viewing and sees over 1,000 visitors a week.

After attending a Remembrance Day service at Holy Trinity — which featured a sanctuary full of families and soldiers sporting poppies, an organist and choir, and a sermon about the importance of creating a brighter future — I interviewed Reverend Paton. She repeatedly spoke on the church’s role in community development, from hosting support groups and raising funds for food banks to collecting recyclable materials for single-use medical devices.

“If students want to volunteer, if they see something that they think they could do, we're always ready to listen and always ready to help them to do whatever it is that they want to do if it's within our remit of serving the community,” Reverend Paton said.

The overwhelming consensus I found in attending these services was that, although religion is not for everyone, it does provide a sense of community in a society that’s becoming increasingly isolated.

Anyone interested in engaging in the religious spaces in St Andrews can find more information on the Chaplaincy’s website at st-andrews.ac.uk/chaplaincy. 

Illustration: Aoife White