The Outer Hebrides or Western Isles, sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. The islands are geographically coextensive with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. They form part of the archipelago of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the waters of the Minch, the Little Minch, and the Sea of the Hebrides.
The Isle of Lewis or simply Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The total area of Lewis is 683 square miles (1,770 km2).
The Church of Scotland is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 259,200 members in 2023. While active membership in the church has declined significantly in recent decades, the government Scottish Household Survey found that 20% of the Scottish population, or over one million people, identified the Church of Scotland as their religious identity in 2019. The Church of Scotland's governing system is presbyterian in its approach, therefore, no one individual or group within the church has more or less influence over church matters. There is no one person who acts as the head of faith, as the church believes that role is the "Lord God's". As a proper noun, the Kirk is an informal name for the Church of Scotland used in the media and by the church itself.
The Scottish Episcopal Church is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland.
Stornoway is the main town, and by far the largest town, of the Outer Hebrides, or Western Isles, and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland.
Same-sex marriage is legal in all parts of the United Kingdom. As marriage is a devolved legislative matter, different parts of the United Kingdom legalised at different times; it has been recognised and performed in England and Wales since March 2014, in Scotland since December 2014, and in Northern Ireland since January 2020. Civil partnerships, which offer most, but not all, of the rights and benefits of marriage, have been recognised since 2005. The United Kingdom was the 27th country in the world and the sixteenth in Europe to allow same-sex couples to marry nationwide.
British society is one of the most secularised in the world and in many surveys determining religious beliefs of the population agnosticism, nontheism, atheism, secular humanism, and non-affiliation are views shared by a majority of Britons. Historically, it was dominated for over 1,400 years by various forms of Christianity, which replaced preceding Romano-British religions, including Celtic and Anglo-Saxon paganism. Religious affiliations of United Kingdom citizens are recorded by regular surveys, the four major ones being the national decennial census, the Labour Force Survey, the British Social Attitudes survey and the European Social Survey.
The blessing or wedding of same-sex marriages and same-sex unions is an issue about which leaders of Christian churches are in ongoing disagreement. Traditionally, Christianity teaches that homosexual acts are sinful and that holy matrimony can only exist between two persons of different sexes. These disagreements are primarily centred on the interpretation of various scripture passages related to homosexuality, sacred tradition, and in some churches on varying understandings of homosexuality in terms of psychology, genetics and other scientific data. While numerous church bodies have widely varying practices and teachings, individual Christians of every major tradition are involved in practical (orthopraxy) discussions about how to respond to the issue.
The Free Church of Scotland is a conservative evangelical Calvinist denomination in Scotland. It is the continuation of the original Free Church of Scotland that remained outside the union with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1900, and remains a distinct Presbyterian denomination in Scotland.
Golspie is a village and parish in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland, which lies on the North Sea coast in the shadow of Ben Bhraggie. It has a population of around 1,350.
Helmsdale railway station is a railway station serving the village of Helmsdale in the Highland council area, northern Scotland. It is located on the Far North Line, between Brora and Kildonan, 101 miles 40 chains (163.3 km) from Inverness. ScotRail, who manage the station, operate all services.
As of the 2011 census, Christianity was the largest religion in Scotland, chosen by 53.8% of the Scottish population identifying when asked: "What religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?" This represented a decline from the 2001 figure of 65.1%. More recent polls of public opinion have shown that the majority today consider themselves non-religious. In 2017, the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, conducted by ScotCen Social Research found that 58% of Scots identified themselves as non-religious, compared to 40% in 1999.
Pietro ParolinOMRI is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. A cardinal since February 2014, he has served as the Vatican's Secretary of State since October 2013 and a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisers since July 2014. Before that, he worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See for thirty years, where his assignments included terms in Nigeria, Mexico and Venezuela, as well as more than six years as Undersecretary of State for Relations with States.
The Outer Hebrides are a unique religious area in contemporary Scotland. The northern island is dominated by Calvinist 'free churches', and has been described as "the last bastion of Sabbath observance in the UK". It is also home to a unique form of Gaelic psalm singing known as precenting. The southern islands of South Uist and Barra are the last remnants of native pre-Reformation Scottish Catholicism. Barra was once dubbed "the island the Reformation did not reach".
Stornoway are a British indie folk band from the Cowley area of Oxford. As of 2023 the band is led by ornithologist Brian Briggs as singer, guitarist, and main songwriter, with multi-instrumentalists Jon Ouin and Oli Steadman.
MS Arrow is a 7,606 GT Ro-Ro ferry built by Astilleros de Huelva SA, Huelva, Spain in 1998 as Varbola for the Estonian Shipping Company, Tallinn. During a charter to Dart Line she was renamed Dart 6, reverting to Varbola when the charter ended. In 2005, she was sold to Malta and renamed RR Arrow. In 2007, she was sold to Seatruck Ferries, Heysham and renamed Arrow. In September 2022, it was revealed that she had been bought by Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for an estimated €9 million.
Events from the year 1942 in Scotland.
Events from the year 1934 in Scotland.
The family of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) and owner of The Trump Organization, is a prominent American family of German and Scottish descent. They are active in business, entertainment, politics, and real estate. Donald Trump, his third wife Melania, and their son Barron were the first family for the duration of his presidency. Trump's father Fred was the son of German immigrants, while his mother Mary Anne MacLeod was a Scottish immigrant. Trump has five children from three wives, and ten grandchildren.
