Dozens of Scots cops have witchcraft or Paganism-type beliefs, official stats reveal | 57FJGPC | 2024-05-01 06:08:01
DOZENS of cops in Scotland have witchcraft or Paganism-type beliefs, official force statistics reveal.
A freedom of information response published by Police Scotland said there are "46 officers who have Paganism or witchcraft types beliefs".
The term relates to followers of Wicca – the largest of the modern Pagan, or neo-Pagan religions.
They typically identify as witches and draw inspiration from the pre-Christian religions of Europe.
Figures previously published by Police Scotland show that as of March 31, 2021, just over 48 per cent of the force – which works out at 11,249 officers/staff – were categorised as having no religion or belief.
The Police Pagan Association said it has 12 registered members in Police Scotland, and a total of 221 members across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
They said that there is a large number of Pagans who choose not to openly declare their faith in the workplace for fear of discrimination.
Meanwhile, just over 20 per cent, or 4,748, said they were members of the Church of Scotland, while about 11 per cent, or 2,684 said they were Roman Catholic.
The number of officers and staff members who identified as being Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish or Hindu each accounted for less than one per cent of the total workforce.
The FoI response also noted that there is a national Police Pagan Association.
A spokesperson for the association said: "Policing has always sought to be representative of the ever diversifying communities we serve, and as such we have police officers and police staff across the UK from a wide range of religions.
"However, policing and Paganism are not as counter-intuitive as it may first seem.
<!-- End of Brightcove Player --> "As a practising Heathen for example, I find that the tenets of community service, protecting the vulnerable and the pursuit of justice that define my faith align quite solidly with the ethics and values of policing.
"Just like the population as a whole, there have always been Pagans in policing, but now they are becoming recognised, supported and more openly represented in our ranks.
Alba Party general secretary Chris McEleny joked: "I've long thought that there were spooks in Police Scotland but now we know.
"Humza Yousaf's shambolic Hate Crime Act did actually abolish the common law offence of blasphemy in Scotland so at least that's one less vexatious complaint our Police would need to investigate about their own officers."
Alba's Mr McEleny added: "On a serious point, there is welcome room in Scotland for all beliefs.
"When the Kingdom of Alba emerged in the ninth century it was very much a Christian kingdom and, despite the cultural diversity, religion was a major source of Scottish identity but the influence of Celtic Paganism is still to this day part of Scottish culture.
"Whether it's the Burning of the Clavie, or even Halloween which was the last day of the year in the old Celtic calendar – celebrated by the Druids as 'Samhain', Scotland's story today has been formed by the traditions of thousands of years."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Police Scotland recognises the benefits of having a workforce which reflects the diversity of backgrounds, cultures and beliefs within the communities that we serve.
"We monitor equality and diversity to ensure that employment practices are fair, non-discriminatory and which support equality of opportunity. Officers and members of police staff provide this information voluntarily."
It is believed the number of people identifying as Wiccan is now in the low hundreds of thousands with the majority living in English-speaking Western countries.
A spokesperson for oversight body the Scottish Police Authority said: "Scotland is a diverse community and it's important that policing represents the communities that it serves."
More >> https://ift.tt/Ygb4kwR Source: MAG NEWS