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Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Scotland, although its numbers remain very small.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) was formed in the 1930s with the aim of achieving Scottish independence. They are broadly on the left-of-centre and are in the European Social-Democratic mould. They are currently the second most popular party electorally, although their highpoint appears to have been in the 1970s.

Scotland's location on the north-western periphery of Europe did not mean the country had a small part in the Second World War. October 1939 saw naval bases in Scotland taking the first German attacks on Britain, both submarine and bomber attacks on Scapa Flow and raids on Rosyth which met with RAF fighters getting their first successes over Britain downing bombers into the Firth of Forth and onto East Lothian. The shipyards and heavy engineering factories in Glasgow and Clydeside played a key role in the war effort, and soon became targets for the Luftwaffe. The town of Clydebank in particular suffered great destruction and loss of life during the blitz. The Highlands again provided a disproportionate number of troops for the war effort. Many thousands of Commandos and resistance fighters received training in the harsh conditions of the Lochaber mountains.

Much of Scotland (particularly the West Central Belt around Glasgow) has experienced problems owing to the religious divide between Presbyterians and Catholics. Many Scottish Catholics maintain that, because many Establishment and business figures have links to the Orange Order, sectarianism is deeply rooted in Scottish society. This problem has historically manifested itself in a number of ways, particularly in employment and in football fanaticism. The problems associated with sectarianism in Scotland have diminished markedly compared with the past, although issues do remain to a certain degree. Scottish police have recently moved to restrict the number of Orange parades.

The written history of Scotland largely begins with the coming of the Roman empire to Britain. Although the pre-Roman inhabitants occasionally used writing for commemorative purpose, these societies favoured a strong oral history. With the loss of the druidic tradition (due to war, famine, and particularly the proscriptions of later Christian missionaries), the people forgot much of this lore. The only surviving pre-Roman account of Scotland originated with the Greek Pytheas of Massalia who circumnavigated the British islands (which he called PretThe British Saint Ninian conducted the first Christian mission in Scotland. From his base, the Candida Casa (present-day Whithorn) on the Solway Firth, he spread the faith in the south and east of Scotland and in the north of England. However, according to the writings of Saint Patrick and Saint Columba, the Picts appear to have renounced Christianity in the century between Ninian's death (432) and the arrival of Saint Columba in 563. The reason is not known. The Gaels re-introduced Christianity into Pictish Scotland, gradually pushing out worship of the older Celtic gods. The most famous evangelist of that period, Saint Columba, came to Scotland in 563 and settled on the island of Iona. Some consider his (possibly apocryphal) conversion of the Pictish King Brude the turning point in the Christianization of Scotland.