The Glasgow Sunday schools which taught socialism to city children

The city forged some of the labour movement’s most famous figures and factions, but one of its lesser-known contributions was the Socialist Sunday School federation. Founded in the 1890s, the schools taught socialist values to children using the language of Christianity.

Schools were not anti-religious. Rather, according to one of their founders, they represented a higher form of religion - the “religion of love.” Classes were led by an adult Superintendent but children were encouraged to perform minor offices, such as taking minutes, since one of the main objectives was to develop the next generation of socialist leaders.

Pupils included future Lord Provost Patrick Dollan, and Jennie Lee, one of the first women MPs and founder of the Open University.

Children read texts and sang from the Socialist Sunday School Hymn Book, which contained socialist standards like The Red Flag.

Socialist Sunday School Song Book, 1957. Pic: Glasgow City Archives

The central part of the class was the “Lesson”, given by an adult member, often on some question of ethics. Topics at one Glasgow school in 1905 included gambling, happiness and companionship.

Some schools ran orchestras and choral singing, whilst many organised sports events, rambling and picnics.

At the movement’s core were the ten Socialist Commandments, which fostered the idea that socialism was a secular version of Christianity in practice. These included many sentiments familiar to the Church (“Make every day holy by good and useful deeds and kindly actions”) alongside those of a more dogmatic bent (“Honour good men, be courteous to all men, bow down to none”).

The Glasgow organisation drew up a catechism that contained the clause: “Why is Socialism necessary? Socialism is necessary because the present system enables a few to enrich themselves out of the labour of the People.”

Socialist Sunday School Song Book, 1957. Pic: Glasgow City Archives

The movement grew quickly beyond Glasgow. By 1907 there were 14 across Scotland, at least 20 in London, and a dozen across Yorkshire and Lancashire. The First World War (which the movement opposed officially) led to a spike in support, but the Depression that followed and the split in the Labour Party during the 1930s caused it to decline nationally. Despite this, a core remained in the west of Scotland until the 1960s: one directory listed 17 nationally in 1964, with nine of them in the Glasgow area. The City Archives holds records for schools in Govanhill and Shettleston, among others.

An important part of the labour movement, Socialist Sunday Schools provided opportunities for working-class adults and children, who hoped, as one text put it, to “build up the City of Love in our own hearts and so help to build it up in the world.”