Faith Tourism

Glasgow is renowned for many things and particularly the quality of its architecture.  Its major untapped asset is its religious buildings.

Glasgow possesses a remarkable collection of over 170 listed places of worship out of a total of almost 300 remaining within its boundary. The city also boasts four cathedrals; Glasgow Cathedral, St Andrew’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral and St Luke’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

It has a long tradition of church buildings designed by eminent architects. This has produced a wonderful ecclesiastical history that continued right up to the 1960’s and is a significant part of the city’s culture and heritage that deserves to be made much more accessible.

Glasgow is a multicultural society and has places of worship for all faiths and religions. With the abundance of religious buildings constructed in the city over the years many are now used by different faiths creating approximately 18 mosques, 8 synagogues, and Hindu temples with the city. Glasgow’s central mosque is the largest in Scotland and can accommodate up to 2000 worshipers at a time.

Many of the churches are landmarks and, with their spires and towers, form an integral feature of the city’s townscape. They were often regarded as the most important buildings in their particular area both socially and architecturally. This importance continues even after religious use has ceased and, although used for different purposes, many remain intact and potentially accessible. There is a wealth of accesible churches and graveyards that lie outwith the city such as those in the region of Dumfries and Galloway. These hold relevance to the history of Glasgow as St. Mungo's diocese stretched to include this area.