Leap of faith

Father Thomas Boyle (Friends of The Scotsman, 19 December) writes that “religious freedom itself will be compromised by ill-thought-out legislation”.

A state which sought to deny the right to religious faith and open worship would be as wrong as those clerics of old who assumed their religion spoke for all.

I suspect what Father Boyle is referring to, however, is exemption from equality laws on grounds of “conscience”, the “freedom” to impose religious ideas on schoolchildren and ­privileged access to the ear of government.

Should he wish to celebrate his religion with adults who chose to join in and to express religious viewpoints from the same ­platform and through the same democratic processes as everyone else then he has nothing to fear from secularism.

Neil Barber

Edinburgh Secular Society

Saughtonhall Drive

Edinburgh