Scottish Catholic Observer

Secular Scotland made a submission to the Scottish Parliament calling for an amendment to the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to make religious observance (RO) in schools an ‘opt-in’ activity rather than an ‘opt-out.’ The petition is also supported by the Humanist Society of Scotland.

Michael McGrath, director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service (SCES), (above) said the petition was ‘yet another example of the effort to force religious activity out of the public sphere.’

“Obviously this won’t happen, and it won’t affect Catholic schools,” he said. “Religious observance is in the very fabric of what we do in Catholic education and that cannot and will not change.”

Mr McGrath did warn that secular efforts of this kind could have a negative impact on broader Scottish society.

“The possible effect on non-denominational schools does concern me,” he said. “Petitions like this are intended to make life more difficult for people who do believe religious observance of all sorts is important and helps young people develop spiritually.”