To what extent has Sectarianism clouded Scottish football and what factors have proven most pivotal in its development?
Sectarianism can broadly be understood as a 'narrow-minded following of a particular belief by members of a denomination that leads to prejudice, bigotry, discrimination, malice and ill-will towards members, or presumed members, of another denomination. Sectarianism can occur in different ways, either at an individual, group, cultural or institutional level' (Scottish Executive, 2006). From this, it can be determined that sectarianism refers to negative, aggressive or inappropriate conduct from one individual or group towards another from a different religious background. An extreme example of this was found as tensions heightened in the Glasgow loyalist area of Bridgeton in 1995, as 16 year old Celtic fan Mark Scott was brutally murdered walking home from a Celtic match by Rangers fan Jason Campbell, 23. This behaviour has been widely attributed to Scottish football, and its fans, for the better part of a century since the institution of Glasgow Celtic football club in 1888 and continues to prevail menacingly within Scottish football.
The sectarian rivalry within Scottish football largely centres on its two dominant and largest clubs, Glasgow-based Celtic and Rangers. Berger (1984) concludes that in studying religious factions we can scrutinise human passions and motivations unrivalled in any other sector of social life. Indeed, it can be argued that sectarianism evokes unprecedented responses from, previously placid, individuals and has resulted in several atrocities through the years. Its significance today is overwhelming as it has blighted Scottish football's global image relentlessly and strenuously for many years, footballs governing body FIFA now must address the Scottish Football Associations (SFA) inability to drag supporters and clubs out of the medieval mindset of sectarianism.
The religious affiliations football clubs have become aligned with derives from Irish immigration to Scotland in the mid-nineteenth century to the First World War. This began with the Irish famine acting as a catalyst but persisted for so long due to other social, economic and historical factors that will be examined in detail later. This is supported by Mitchell (2008) who claims a large proportion of Scottish Catholics, especially in the West of Scotland, have their origins in Irish immigration to Scotland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Glasgow Celtic football club, rich with an Irish heritage and fanbase, was established in response to the Irish influx to Glasgow in 1888; especially due to its geographic location near the city's shipyards, home to many Irish workers. Surveys indicate that 90 per cent of the Celtic support is Catholic and, like most Catholics in Scotland, they are mainly of Irish descent (Boyle 1994; Bradley 1995). It is also important to note that Roman Catholics in Scotland have historically been principally working-class (Boyle and Lynch, 1998; Devine, 1999); as communities they would not receive the same privileges their Protestant counterparts were entitled to and, therefore, adopted a minority role and the attributes carried with that (labouring for much less pay, for example). This was met with Protestant hostility and ignited a sectarian battle that still envelopes the city today.
Considering such social factors, Glasgow's sectarian roots can further be understood when we examine how the respective religious orders became entangled. In 1923, the Church of Scotland was attempting to survive social, moral and spiritual crises in the reverberation of the First World War; led by charismatic and devout preacher John White, the Church developed and presented a report to the General Assembly entitled ' The Menace of the Irish Race to our Scottish Nationality' (Kelly, E. 2003) as not an overtly religious, but rather a scathing social attack on the race as a corrupt people. With such institutionalised bigotry influencing followers on both sides, it is not difficult to accept how sectarianism arrived in Scotland.
Bruce et al. (2004) actually question the existence of sectarianism within the SFA today, arguing it is no longer rife amongst football clubs and those disputing so are a minority clinging to the past. However, exploring both Glasgow clubs' adventures into European football, and the subsequent behaviour of their fans abroad, highlights a different reality. When travelling internationally, group identification by supporters of Glasgow Rangers (Protestant) and Celtic (Catholic) football clubs (Bradley, 1996) becomes even more tribal; primal instincts appear to overrule human conditioning in atmospheres manufactured via hatred. The diaspora of Rangers fans in Manchester city centre after their UEFA cup final defeat to Zenit St. Petersberg in 2008, led to widespread destruction, police/ medical staff injuries and the condemnation of Scottish football fans.

References
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Boyle, R. and Lynch, P., (1998) Out of the Ghetto?: the Catholic Community in Modern Scotland. Edinburgh: Donald.
Bradley, J., (1996) Facets of the Irish Diaspora: ‘Irishness’ in 20th Century Scotland, Irish Journal of Sociology, vol. 6, pp. 79-100.
Bruce, S., et al.,(2004) Sectarianism in Scotland, Edinburgh.
Donald, J., (2005) Religious discrimination in Scotland: Fact or myth?, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 151-168.
Devine, T. M., (1999) The Scottish Nation. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Devine, T. M., (2000) Scotland's Shame. Bigotry and Sectarianism in Modern Scotland. Edinburgh.
Kelly, E., (2003) Challenging Sectarianism in Scotland: The Price of Racism, Scottish Affairs, no. 42.
Mitchell, M.J., (2008) The Irish in the west of Scotland 1797-1848: Trade unions, strikes and political movements.
Paterson, L., (2000) The Social Class of Catholics in Scotland, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A (Statistics in Society), Vol. 163, No. 3, 363-379.
Scottish Executive (2006) Sectarianism: Action Plan on Tackling Sectarianism in Scotland. Edinburgh. Available at:
<URL:http://www.eis.org.uk/images/pdf/breaking%20down%20sectarianism.pdf>