Faith schools ‘would add to divisions’

Norman Bonney, Edinburgh-based council member of the National Secular Society, said a proposal by Scottish Tory leadership contender Ruth Davidson for the Church of Scotland to open faith schools was old-fashioned and out of touch with contemporary Scottish society.

He said: “If new Church of Scotland faith schools are encouraged then other faiths and denominations would have to be given the same rights and opportunities. There would then potentially not only be Muslim schools but also Spiritualist, Pagan, Mormon, and why not Scientologist schools if parents wanted them? All paid for by the Scottish taxpayer.

“Religious segregation in schooling has already contributed enough to social problems – Scottish society should not be even more divided by proposals such as these.”