Religious rights

Gary McLelland of Edinburgh Secular Society (ESS), tells us both that he wants democracy and that numbers do not really matter (Letters, 14 November). I’m afraid democracy does work by numbers and should not work by privilege.

Therefore, I am sure the ESS will join me in campaigning for parents to be given the right to choose what kind of school they want for their children.

Those who want to have the traditional Scottish Christian education system should be able to do so, and those who want a secular humanist, godless education likewise.

I would also completely agree that religion should not be forced on children through education. But neither should irreligion. Christian education does not force, it educates. In the free marketplace of ideas it appears that many do find the Christian worldview and philosophy far more appealing than the alternatives – that is why my own congregation has grown from a handful to 200-plus and why many biblical churches across Scotland are seeing growth.

It seems to me there are those who, under the guise of secularism, want to remove that free marketplace and insist that only their philosophy is taught.

Ultimately that kind of secular humanism leads to an authoritarian state and education which does not trust parents and, instead of educating, is used for social engineering.

That is why this debate is important. Are we going to allow freedom and choice in education, or should the whole system be handed over to the tiny group of secularists who just know what is obviously right and good for the rest of us? 

David Robertson

Solas CPC

St Peters Free Church 

St Peter Street, Dundee