Tags: Scotland
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The Scottish hate crime bill is a threat to free and open debate
Posted: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 by Stephen Evans
As ministers consider changing Scotland's hate crime bill to address free expression concerns, Stephen Evans says their insistence to date that the bill won't undermine legitimate debate has been unconvincing. Read More »
We all need the freedom to offend – including the most marginalised
Posted: Thu, 06 Aug 2020 by Megan Manson
Scotland's new hate crime bill could easily be weaponised to silence any speech deemed offensive. This will disempower, rather than protect, society's most vulnerable, says Megan Manson. Read More »
Does Scotland’s justice minister realise the reach of his own hate crime bill?
Posted: Tue, 16 Jun 2020 by Chris Sloggett
Humza Yousaf has claimed a bill he's proposing isn't a threat to free speech because it sets a high threshold for criminality. But his careless words suggest he isn't taking concerns seriously, says Chris Sloggett. Read More »
Scotland’s new hate speech law will be too censorious
Posted: Thu, 07 May 2020 by Chris Sloggett
A new offence of 'stirring up hatred' on religious grounds is too restrictive of free speech, says Chris Sloggett. Read More »
Religious reps’ influence over education is an affront to democracy
Posted: Tue, 27 Aug 2019 by Neil Barber
An NSS report has called for an end to religious appointees on council education committees in Scotland. Neil Barber says it's long past time for these positions to go. Read More »
Sturgeon’s praise for Catholic schools will exacerbate Scotland’s tribal divisions
Posted: Wed, 28 Feb 2018 by Neil Barber
Catholic schools are no remedy for a society facing ingrained sectarian division, writes Neil Barber. In praising them Scotland's first minister has shown a willingness to sacrifice social cohesion to reach a block vote.
Often referred to as "Scotland's shame",... Read More »
Fundamentalists feel the Force of Star Wars
Posted: Tue, 09 Jan 2018 by Megan Manson
Sabbatarians in Lewis claim a right to impose their beliefs on others, including by banning screenings of Star Wars on Sundays. Megan Manson asks if they would make these demands if Jediism was a recognised religion.
Obi-Wan has taught them well. When An Lanntair... Read More »
Our business was harassed by Christian fundamentalists – now it’s the best known in Lewis
Posted: Wed, 22 Nov 2017 by Martin Flett
The National Secular Society recently reported the case of Leona Rawlinson, the owner of TweedTastic in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis. Leona was being harassed by sabbatarians over her decision to open her shop on Sundays. The story was picked up by several... Read More »
To spank or not to spank – a biblical right?
Posted: Sat, 21 Oct 2017 by Alistair McBay
With Christian groups leading the opposition to Scotland's new smacking ban, Alistair McBay explores the many instances of Christian schools and campaigners demanding the ability to spank children as a religious or even biblical right.
This week the Scottish... Read More »
The legacy of decades of abuse in a Catholic children's home
Posted: Thu, 21 Sep 2017 by Mark Boules
Hundreds of children died at Smyllum Park, a home in Lanarkshire run by the Catholic Church between 1864 and 1981. As an order of nuns considers selling the land, calls for a memorial are mounting. Mark Boules reflects on what is left after decades of abuse... Read More »
The Catholic Church’s abuse scandal shows no sign of abating
Posted: Mon, 15 May 2017 by Richard Scorer
After forty years the Catholic Church is still more interested in protecting itself and its clerical culture than in truly eradicating child abuse, writes Richard Scorer.
"Organisational culture is a powerful force that guides decisions and actions. Leaders... Read More »
The Catholic Church in Scotland is still playing the victim card to stifle criticism
Posted: Thu, 06 Apr 2017 by Alistair McBay
There is some lingering anti-Catholic bigotry in Scotland, writes NSS vice president Alistair McBay, but the Church is playing victim while supporting a segregated education system which can only worsen prejudice.
"As one brought up a Catholic, I know only... Read More »
Sabbatarians have imposed their dogma on islanders for long enough, help them put a stop to it
Posted: Thu, 08 Dec 2016 by Alistair McBay
The National Secular Society is helping campaigners on the Isle of Lewis open a sports centre on a Sunday, currently blocked by a council who won't allow it on the Sabbath. It's hardly the first time Sabbatarians on Lewis have played this game.
The attempt... Read More »
Scotland is a mosaic of religions and beliefs – but the research shows people turning away from politicised faith
Posted: Thu, 24 Mar 2016 by Alistair McBay
Scotland is a mosaic of beliefs and non-beliefs where individuals are free to hold a belief, change it or not have one at all. But it's not hard to see why people are rejecting the organised and politicised aspects of religion, writes Alistair McBay.
Much is... Read More »
Scottish evangelists identify Paganism as one of the “biggest threats to Western civilisation”
Posted: Mon, 16 Nov 2015 by Alistair McBay
After the world suffered another grim reminder of the merciless Islamist ideology, the Solas Centre for Public Christianity warned instead that the re-emergence of Paganism in Scotland was one of the biggest threats to civilization.
On Sunday 15 November 2015... Read More »
God “is the man who saves people” – a parent discovers what Religious Observance in school has taught their child
Posted: Wed, 14 Oct 2015 by A Parent
A parent writes of their shock at discovering Religious Observance in the non-denominational Scottish school attended by their daughter, and gives their perspective on the problems caused by archaic Religious Observance rules in Scottish schools.
Towards the... Read More »
A very confused and immoderate Moderator
Posted: Wed, 20 May 2015 by Alistair McBay
Alistair McBay examines the confused and immoderate arguments of the new Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland.
The Reverend David Robertson of the Free Church of Scotland has now taken up the mantle of the church's Moderator.
First of all, it would be churlish... Read More »
Is the Christian immune from plane crashes?
Posted: Tue, 17 Feb 2015 by Alistair McBay
Alistair McBay reports on Scottish Calvinism's attack on secularism, and offers his reaction to the rhetoric and tactics of the Free Church of Scotland.
The airline industry has had more than its fair share of tragedy recently, with the loss of many lives... Read More »
Churches, charity and the conferring of privilege
Posted: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 by Alistair McBay
There are many ways to do good, including campaigning for human rights and equality over discrimination and prejudice, but charitable work is not a bargaining chip for special privileges, argues Alistair McBay.
Recently some Christian leaders in Scotland angered... Read More »
The Bishops, the Catholic vote and the Referendum
Posted: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 by Alistair McBay
Alistair McBay argues that a growing political alliance between the leadership of the Catholic Church in Scotland and SNP has implications which stretch far beyond the Referendum campaign and threaten to revive religious identity politics.
"Most people still... Read More »
Religion “mustn't cause violence”
Posted: Wed, 10 Sep 2014 by Alistair McBay
Both media commentators and politicians seem keen to claim religion as a cause for good deeds but determined not to acknowledge it as a contributing factor to bad ones, argues Alistair McBay.
An article in the Scotsman in May by Joyce McMillan ran with the... Read More »
Embedded religious privilege triumphs on Scottish education issues
Posted: Mon, 12 May 2014 by Alistair McBay
National Secular Society's spokesperson for Scotland, Alistair McBay, argues that the Scottish Parliament has helped entrench religious privilege in the country's education system.
Tuesday 6 May was a busy day in the Scottish Parliament which saw a triumph... Read More »
The God question: A tale of two adverts
Posted: Tue, 07 Jan 2014 by Alistair McBay
Alistair McBay examines the PR campaign behind an educational resource that seeks to bring creationism and intelligent design into the science classrooms of Scotland.
Further to my two previous blogs on the God Question which you can read here and here, I have... Read More »
The God Question – a Trojan horse for Intelligent Design
Posted: Fri, 29 Nov 2013 by Alistair McBay
Intelligent Design is back in shiny new packaging, labelled as 'evidence based and balanced' and getting into the science classrooms in Scotland, argues Alistair McBay.
"To be sure, Darwin's theory of evolution is imperfect. However, the fact that a scientific... Read More »
Don’t give in to the Gideons
Posted: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 by Veronica Wikman
The Scottish Government must take action to remove the proselytising opportunity presented by religious observance in our schools, argues Veronica Wikman.
The Gideon Society must think that female pupils and teachers at our high schools have become a bit uppity... Read More »
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