BY Daniel Harkins | March 11 | 
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Church defends role of religious reps on education committees
The Church has defended the role of religious representatives on education committees after an attack from a secular group.
The Humanist Society Scotland has launched a new campaign calling for a change in the law to rid local authority education committees of religious representatives.
The 1973 Local Government (Scotland) Act ensures that three places for religious representatives are reserved on council education committees, including one for the Catholic Church and one for the Church of Scotland. The 1918 Education (Scotland) Act gives the Catholic Church other statutory rights to influence education in Catholic schools.
Gordon MacRae, Humanist Society Scotland chief executive, said the presence of ‘unelected’ religious representatives is ‘anti-democratic and out of step with modern Scotland.’
However, Michael McGrath, director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service (above), said that ultimately the people the humanists have to convince are the parents who choose to send their children to a Catholic school.
“This is just another attempt by humanists to strip religion out of society and attack the place of Catholic schools,” he added.
The Church of Scotland has also defended the statutory right for religious representation on education committees, with principal clerk the Very Rev John Chalmers saying the ‘Church of Scotland regards its place at the table as appropriate and would not agree that religious influence on education has grown in recent years.’
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