Mistaken belief

I grow weary of religious believers like Angus Logan (Letters, 19 April) claiming that the virtue of their argument lies in there being more Christians than secular campaigners. Does it not occur to him that church numbers have been built up over 2,000 years of regular recruitment from the younger generation?

Yes, the Edinburgh Secular Society is a small campaigning group but so were the Suffragettes. Would Mr Logan also seek to dismiss their significance with his numbers exercise?

Furthermore, he is quite mistaken in his belief that we wish to “cut off school children from even the barest acquaintance with worship forms of Scotland’s national church”.

It would be remiss of schools not to offer religious education which familiarises children with all religions and world philosophies and provides them with choice.

It is directive and evangelising religious observance which is the indoctrination to which 
Veronica Wikman refers.

Neil Barber

Edinburgh Secular Society

Saughtonhall Drive

Edinburgh

Angus Logan suggests that a small group of secularists is behind the campaign to discontinue religious observance in Edinburgh’s schools but more than 1,000 electors have signed the petition to request the city council to organise a ballot to give city electors a choice on the issue.

The 2011 Scottish Social Attitudes Survey demonstrated that only 22 per cent of Scots now identify with the Church of Scotland, 12 per cent with the Roman Catholic Church and that 53 per cent now have no religion.

Given such a pattern of religious belief in Scotland, why are services conducted in our
misnamed “non-denominational” but Protestant state schools with Church of Scotland chaplains?

Would it not be better to leave religious worship to parents to guide their children as they wish, and if they can, with respect to such matters out of school rather than impose it in school?

Norman Bonney

Palmerston Place

Edinburgh