Demographics Report iMatter Survey 2025

Religion – Deep Dive

Among staff taking part in iMatter, over half have no religion. Church of Scotland and Roman Catholic the two most popular religions. Comparing Health and Social Care data with the Scottish population from the 2022 Census, the profile is similar. Across the population there are slightly fewer people with no religion, likely reflective of the correlation between age and religion and the general decline in active religion being seen.

Demographic profile

Within the various religious groups, the demographic profile varies quite considerably. Some key points of difference are:

No Religion

• Younger 26% under 35 years and 20% 55 years and over.
• Predominantly white (98%).
• Mainly female (80%).
• Only 19% of those with no religion work in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, compared to 23% of all staff taking part in iMatter.
• Incidence of no religion among staff in individual boards is lowest in NHS Western Isles (37%).

Church of Scotland

• Tend to be older, with 44% aged 55 years or over.
• Predominantly white ethnicity (98%).
• Mainly female (84%).

Roman Catholic

• 35% are aged 55 years or over.
• 91% are from white ethnic groups.

Other Christian

• Tend to be older with 44% aged 55 years or over.
• 21% African ethnic groups.

Muslim

• Younger 34% under 35 years.
• 57% Asian, 18% African and 14% ‘other ethnicity’.
• A higher proportion were male (41%) compared to only 20% of across iMatter staff responding to the sex question.
• 32% of those who are Muslim work in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, compared to 23% of the staff taking part in iMatter.
• 28% work in Medical and Dental, compared to only 7% of all NHSScotland Staff.
• 19% work in Nursing and Midwifery compared to 36% of all NHSScotland staff.
• 17% of those who are Muslim work in NHS Lothian (14% of total iMatter).

Hindu

• A higher proportion were male (41%) compared to only 20% of across iMatter staff responding to the sex question.
• 95% work in NHSScotland.
• 38% work in Medical and Dental, compared to only 7% of all NHSScotland Staff
• 7% work in Nursing and Midwifery compared to 36% of all NHSScotland staff.
• 24% of those who are Hindu work in NHS Grampian, a board that accounts for only 10% of total iMatter responses.

Buddhist

• 57% are of white ethnicity and 34% Asian.

Sikh

• Predominantly Asian (92%).
• 52% work in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, compared to 23% of the staff taking part in iMatter.
• 21% work in Nursing and Midwifery compared to 36% of all NHSScotland staff.

Jewish

• Tend to be older with 30% aged 55 years and over.
• 68% of those that selected Jewish as their religion reported they are of white ethnicity. 16% selected ‘other ethnicity’, later stating they are Jewish.
• 17% of those who identified as Jewish reported having a disability.
• 22% work in the Allied Health Profession compared to 12% of all NHSScotland staff.
• 17% work in Nursing and Midwifery compared to 36% of all NHSScotland staff.
• The distribution across the boards does not differ significantly from the overall proportions of staff taking part in iMatter. For example, 25% of those who are Jewish work in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (23% of total iMatter) and 16% in NHS Lothian (14% of total iMatter).

Pagan

• Predominantly white ethnicity (95%).
• 28% of those who are Pagan, report that they have a disability as determined under the Equality Act definition.

Another religion

• Tend to be older with 36% aged 55 years and over.
• Most respondents (80%) were from White ethnic groups, with 10% identifying as belonging to another ethnic group.

Workplace Experience

Workplace experiences differ by religious group: Hindu (7.7), Muslim (7.6) and Sikh (7.5) are the religious groups with the highest scores. The lowest scores are among Pagan (6.4), other religions (6.7) and Jewish (6.8).

Within the workplace experience the extent to which opinions vary across religious groups differ varies by measure. Scores relating to aspects of staff experience of the wider organisation vary greatly across religious groups, with the largest ranges in:

• I feel that board members who are responsible for my organisation are sufficiently visible, range of 21, from 48 to 69.
• I have confidence and trust in Board members who are responsible for my organisation range of 23, from 50 to 73.
• I feel sufficiently involved in decisions relating to my organisation, range of 21; from 46 to 67.
• I am confident performance is managed well within my organisation, range of 20; from 45 to 74.

In all these measures it is Pagans who score lowest, with Jewish scoring next lowest and Hindu who score highest, typically followed by Sikh.

Among the Team/Line Manager measures the differences across religions groups are much smaller with most varying by 4 or 5 points. Feeling involved in decisions relating to their team shows the greatest variation between religious groups, with Pagans scoring 73, Jewish 74 and at the other end of the range Sikhs scoring 82 and Hindu 81.

Experience as an Individual scores typically vary by 7 to 9 points across the religious groups. The largest variations are in Feeling involved in decisions relating to their job where Pagans score 67, Jewish 69 compared to Hindu who score 86.

Across all measures the typical order of scoring from high to low across religions is:

1. Hindu

2. Muslim

3. Sikh

4. Other Christian

5. Roman Catholic

6. Church of Scotland

7. Buddhist

8. No Religion

9. Jewish

10. Another religion^[17]

11. Pagan