After two years of work, the Final Report of the Advisory on Tackling Sectarianism in Scotland is a curious and, to an extent, disappointing document.

Those familiar with the subject will learn little not already in the public domain. Several key questions remain unanswered.

It can perhaps be best described as another contribution to an ongoing discussion and not the watershed analysis of an old problem the funders of the project, the Scottish Government, may have anticipated

Group members clearly found many issues surrounding sectarianism perplexing, challenging and elusive.Their intellectual difficulties come through in the sometimes convoluted prose and in a failure on occasion to deliver their own conclusions on some more complex issues.

The group was asked to consider two questions, one of which was: 'What is sectarianism in Scotland now?" An answer demanded a clear and acceptable definition of the problem. Instead, an earlier definition by the group is amended in the final version and a plea is made to the Scottish Government "to seek the help of communities across Scotland to craft a definition, which is easily understood". This seems like opting out.

Several areas of social progress are noted. Labour market discrimination along religious lines is a thing of the past. No evidence was found of structural disadvantage among religious groups. An important degree of overlap existed in the social networks of both Protestants and Catholics and this was extended by high rates of religious intermarriage across Scotland.

Little evidence was found of sectarianism in Scottish politics. Significantly, during the referendum campaign any attempt to introduce sectarian elements to the debate was repudiated by both sides.

Large numbers of Catholics appear to have voted for independence last year in a radical shift of attitudes from the 1970s and earlier; surely a sign that they are now much more comfortable in their Scottish skins. The old canard that the denominational school system contributes powerfully to Scottish sectarianism is given short shrift.

It is a pity, however, that there was no historian on the group who might have been able to comment on the huge significance of these momentous changes in Scottish society and then offer some explanation why they have taken place.

The patterns revealed by data on religious hate crime before the report was published are instructive. The latest evidence indicates that the figures are at their lowest in a decade and are massively outnumbered by cases of racial criminality, and even more so by the scandalously high incidence of domestic abuse. Most religious hate crime occurs in Glasgow or the West of Scotland with little or no instances elsewhere. Most offenders are often-drunk young men. Little or no violence is involved. Offences are overwhelmingly anti-social and abusive.

Those "targeted" in the main are police officers and public service or retail workers, not members of other religions. The implication is that the actions of this very small group of troublemakers are not in themselves manifestations of virulent sectarianism.

Yet, despite these positive indicators of social change, the report maintains that "a very substantial body of evidence consistently corroborates the evident perception in Scotland that 'sectarianism' (however defined) is widespread and worrisome".This conflict at the heart of the findings between evidence pointing in different directions is a central paradox Holyrood and ministers must probe with care and assiduity when discussing the Report. Taxpayers' monies are invested to support an anti-sectarian industry that has mushroomed in recent years.

Regrettably, they will will receive little substantive support from the report to help guide them to reasonable conclusions. It concludes that there is "less clear evidence about its [sectarianism's] actual form, character and extent". Naively, some expected group members to provide hard evidence on these questions rather than a blatant admission of ignorance on key points.

This report confirms previous studies that have demonstrated that the malign aspects of the old sectarianism, which did indeed affect the life chances of many people of Irish Catholic descent, have disappeared for the most part. However, not surprisingly, deep-rooted attitudes that have come down through families for generations take much longer to wither and die, even when their immediate causes no longer exist. In general, and with the possible exception of some communities, it seems that only pockets of bigotry and prejudice are all that remain of Scotland's so called "secret shame" in 2015.

Professor Sir Tom Devine is Scotland's leading historian. His latest book is Independence or Union: Questions from the Scottish Past and Scottish Present (forthcoming, Penguin, 2015).