Sam Ghibaldan broaches the role that the State should play in religion (Opinion, 12 February). Of course governments should be separated from religion, even a Muslim state like Turkey has the good sense to realise this. The role of any government should be to protect the right of every citizen to practice whatever faith they choose, subject of course to obeying the law of the land.
The question as to whether faith schools should be allowed or encouraged will not be easy to resolve.
The late Rev Martin Luther King claimed he had a dream that children of all races would walk hand in hand to the same school. I'm convinced that
if he lived in Britain today his dream would be that children of all faiths would walk hand in hand to the same school. I fail to be convinced that a society made up of segregated children will create a society of integrated adults.
JIM CARSON, Larchfield, Balerno, Midlothian
I am glad that Alistair McBay, of the National Secular Society, is opposed to segregation in education (Letters, 12 February). I wonder if this includes segregation according to class and income as well as religion? Given the criteria he espouses does this mean that those parents who have the means to send their children to private education are guilty of "apartheid"? I am also intrigued that, whilst he wants to ban parents from being able to choose to have their children educated according to the philosophy/religious outlook of their choice, he insists that all children in Scotland should be educated according to his philosophy. Just quite how this encourages diversity escapes me. Maybe I need re-educated?
DAVID A ROBERTSON, St Peter Street, Dundee
If Catholic schools practise apartheid, as Alistair McBay argues, why are so many parents, who are not Catholics, happy to send their children to them?
Incidentally, the use of the word "apartheid" is not only inappropriate but ironic. In South Africa, in the days of real apartheid, it was the Catholic schools and seminaries which broke the law.
MARY BELL, Gourlaybank, Haddington, East Lothian
To suggest in your editorial (8 February) that the provision of state funded Catholic schools is an example of aiding communities to integrate is risible.
The insistence of the Roman Catholic Church in having denominational schools in 21st century Scotland perpetuates educational apartheid and entrenched bigotry.
D ROBERTS, Andrew Crescent, Stenhousemuir, Stirlingshire
The full article contains 409 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
