Religion in the Outer Hebrides

The northern island (Lewis and Harris) is dominated by Calvinist 'free churches', and has been described as "the last bastion of Sabbath observance in the UK".

The most significant is the Callanish Stones on the isle of Lewis, which are notable megalithic sites dating back some 5000 years.

Moreover, according to tradition the Irish monk St. Columba established an abbey on the small island of Iona off the coast of Mull in 563.

[citation needed] Supposedly St. Barr (or St. Finbarr), Bishop of Cork, visited the island of Barra and gave it his name in the late 500s.

There is speculation that this church was built atop an older chapel dating back to the seventh century.

[7] Norsemen began raiding the Hebrides in the 790s, with the most famous being the sacking of Iona Abbey and the murder of 68 monks there in 806.

[8] Due to repeated attacks, the abbey was abandoned by 825 and all the Hebrides gradually fell under the control of pagan Vikings.

[citation needed] The thirteenth century saw both the Church and the state in the Outer Hebrides begin shifting from Norse to Scottish rule.

[citation needed] Stornoway, like the northern (Protestant) Hebrides as a whole, has a tradition of adherence to the Christian Sabbath (Sundays).

As Stornoway has most of the island's services, shops and businesses, it undergoes the most visible change on a Sunday and is often seen as a focal point for the issue.

The first Sunday air service began in October 2002 and was met by protests from church groups under the banner of the Lord's Day Observance Society.

[18] The introduction of this service was not directly met with protests, but an opposing petition was signed by a significant majority of the local (South Harris) population[citation needed].

[citation needed] A poll conducted in 2000 showed slightly more than 60% of islanders in favour of having ferry and air travel available on Sundays, though a still larger majority wanted a referendum on such matters – something that has not taken place.

[23] This area has been described as the last bastion of conservative Calvinism in Britain, and there was controversy in 2006 when Calmac started a Sunday ferry service between Berneray and Harris and in 2010 between Stornoway and the mainland.