There are now more Scots without a religion than there are members of any single faith group in the country.
Figures from the 2011 census released on Thursday revealed that 37% of Scots now say they have no religion more than 1.94 million people, up more than 500,000 since 2001.
This is greater than the 1.72 million people who consider themselves members of the Church of Scotland 32.4% of the country’s population.
Church of Scotland numbers are down 428,000 and 10 percentage points since the 2001 census.
There are 841,000 Catholics in Scotland and another 291,275 people are members of other Christian groups.
The Rev Colin Sinclair, convener of the Kirk’s mission and discipleship council, said: “With more than 400,000 members the Church of Scotland is still a vibrant and important force in society today.
“In many other ways the Church is there for everyone and seeks to serve people at their times of greatest need.
“This can be seen in that four times the membership, 1.7 million people, say they ‘belong’ to the Church of Scotland.
He added: “We are the greatest provider of marriages in Scotland, more than 5,500 in 2012, and that speaks volumes for the regard in which the Church of Scotland is held.
“In fact, during the last year, Church of Scotland representatives conducted more than 25,000 funerals, which works out at one every 20 minutes every day of the year.”
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Rev Lorna Hood, said: “I am confident that the Church of Scotland will continue to be the strong voice in Scottish life and society, not only because of the words we preach, but because of how we translate these words into actions.
“The census does make stark reading, and we in the Church, along with other faith groups, will have to consider how we communicate the Gospel in a more relevant way to the people of Scotland.”
A Free Church spokesman said: “Although Scotland has faced an intense decade of militant secularisation, it is somewhat encouraging to see that the majority of Scots still identify themselves with Christianity.”