The new battle over religion in schools
Churches have called for “non-faith” secular schools to be set up in Scotland in the face of growing demands to change the way pupils participate in religious activities such as prayers and services. The issue has been brought into the spotlight by a petition which has been lodged at the Scottish Parliament, supported by Secular [...]
Scots head teachers urged not to let US Christian sex expert speak to their kids after shocked pupil required therapy
Scots head teachers have been urged not to let a hardline US Christian sex campaigner talk to their kids. Pamela Stenzel, a favourite of the US religious right [sic] – spoke to up to 200 pupils from several schools in a seminar at Catholic St Andrew’s Academy in Paisley. But it’s claimed one pupil who [...]
600 sign up to Holyrood petition to make opting out of religion in schools easier
More than 600 people have signed a Scottish Parliament petition calling for a change in the law to make it easier for parents to opt out of religious observance in schools. The petition, raised by the organisation Secular Scotland and Inverclyde parent Mark Gordon, asks Holyrood to change the law so parents are asked first [...]
NHS hits out at Catholic schools for failing to teach sexual health issues
Scotland’s largest health board has hit out at Catholic schools for failing to educate children about sexual health issues. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde warn that young people are being put at risk because of church restrictions denying them access to sexual health services. But furious church bosses have demanded the NHS board apologise for [...]
Police investigate allegations of sex abuse at Fort Augustus Catholic boarding school
Police are investigating allegations of abuse at a Catholic boarding school in the Scottish Highlands, following complaints of a brutal regime in which boys were physically beaten, psychologically tortured and sexually assaulted. The school closed in 1993. Officers from Police Scotland will travel to Newcastle tomorrow to interview Andrew Lavery, 41, who for two years [...]
Campaigners call for end to religious ‘interference’ in schools
Religious groups should no longer enjoy representation on education boards, according to secularism campaigners. The Edinburgh Secular Society and the Humanist Society Scotland are calling for a review of the law which compels councils to appoint three religious representatives to their local education committees. Campaigners have seized on a recent report by the Church of [...]
Name change for Free Church College would ‘generate interest in wider evangelical church circles’
The Free Church College should be renamed the Edinburgh Theological Seminary to generate interest within wider evangelical church circles and show Gospel-work co-operation, the Church’s General Assembly will hear next week. The College Board report believes its identity is too tied in with the denomination, and the change would make the College “a more national [...]
Glasgow’s International Christian College faces staff cuts and relocation
Challenging financial times and a changing Christian context are having a major impact on the church in Scotland, and International Christian College is not immune to this, the college’s principal, Rev Richard Tiplady, acknowledged in a statement. He said a decline in the number of new students each year from 2007 to 2010, although since [...]
Kirk welcomes move to retain religious observance in schools
The Church welcomes the move from Gary Bennett, an Edinburgh father, who has launched a petition for religious observance in schools to be protected. His submission follows a move from Veronica Wikman, mother of one, who has urged Councillors to remove religious observance from non-denominational primary and secondary schools. Mr Bennett said that his petition [...]
Church-goers out to save school prayer in Edinburgh
Church members have struck back in a battle over religious assemblies in Edinburgh schools by lodging a petition for them to be protected. Education chiefs will consider a petition from father-of-three Gary Bennett alongside an earlier submission calling for a vote on removing religious observance (RO) from non-denominational primary and secondary schools. Mr Bennett, 43, [...]
