THE Catholic church in Scotland has described as "downright dubious at worst" a report that says that more than one in three Scottish Catholic school pupils have sectarian views.

The research, co-authored by Glasgow University's Professor Stephen McKinney, claims to be the first to look at the views held at some of Scotland's 357 Catholic secondary schools.

The study found "extreme" views among six per cent of the pupils but also that sectarian opinions were more common among pupils who were non-practising Catholics.

But less than a third said they had "positive experience" of Protestants.

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Experts say the results are indicative of growing extremist views held by teenagers on both sides of the sectarian divide.

Peter Kearney, director of the Scottish Catholic Media Office accused the study’s methodology of being “questionable at best and downright dubious at worst”.

He added: “Although unnecessarily arcane and complex, the study does reveal some interesting findings which are in tune with the experience of staff in Catholic schools. Unsurprisingly, there is no evidence to support the theory that Catholic schools contribute to the formation of sectarian attitudes.

“Revealingly, however, pupils described as 'nominally catholic' are more likely to espouse sectarian attitudes than those who are practising Catholics. Reassuringly, even among the former group only a minority have any intolerant attitudes.”

The study - Assessing Sectarian Attitudes Among Catholic Adolescents in Scotland - considered anonymous questionnaires taken by almost 800 pupils aged 13 to 15. It was co-written by Dr Ursula McKenna and Professor Leslie Francis of Warwick University.

It found also that only 31 per cent thought a lot of good was done in the world by Protestants.

It said: "The data demonstrated that, although only six per cent of Catholic pupils took the extreme view that they would not like to live next door to Protestants, fewer than one third of Catholic pupils affirm their positive experience of Protestants: 31 per cent claim that a lot of good is done in the world by Protestants and 32 per cent are interested in finding out about Protestants.

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The report said: "Signs of sectarianism remain among 37 per cent of Catholic pupils who do not feel that they have friends who are Protestants, 35 per cent of Catholic pupils who do not feel that they would be happy to go out with someone from a different denomination, and 43 per cent of Catholic pupils who do not feel that they would be happy about a close relative marrying someone from a different denomination."

The research reported by The Times also found male pupils were more likely to hold sectarian views than females - and that more religious engagement meant they were less likely to hold sectarian views.

It continued: "The data demonstrated that religious engagement among Catholic pupils is a significant predictor of lower levels of sectarian attitudes.

"Catholic pupils least likely to espouse sectarian attitudes are those who regard their religious identity as important, attend church frequently and pray frequently. In other words, sectarian attitudes are associated with nominal Catholics rather than actively practising Catholics."

David Scott, the director of anti-sectarian charity Nil By Mouth, said: “We work with thousands of young people every year and know there are those who harbour sectarian attitudes. This isn’t unique to any one religious or cultural identity."