Lack of faith

DURING BBC Radio 4’s Question Time on Saturday, Fiona Hyslop, the Cabinet secretary for culture and external affairs, stated that in Scotland there is no established religion and that religion and politics are kept separate. Is she not aware that the monarch, upon accession, is obliged by the Acts of Union of 1707 to swear to “maintain and preserve the true Protestant religion and Presbyterian church government in Scotland”? In its independence plans, the SNP says it will keep the monarchy on its present basis and will not change the legal status of any religion.

And is Ms Hyslop not aware of the weekly Time for Reflection in Holyrood, when largely religious speakers address the whole parliament in the debating chamber? And has she not heard of the separate system of state-funded Roman Catholic schooling, or of religious nominees on otherwise elected local council education committees?

It does not inspire confidence in those who seek to promote and constitute a separate, independent Scottish state if they demonstrably do not understand how the current system operates.

Norman Bonney

Palmerston Place

Edinburgh