This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter.

There's a strange imbalance in Scottish society. As a nation, we’re now predominantly secular: 51.1% said in the 2022 census that they had “no religion”.

Yet churches hold power which far outweighs their place. When it comes to public discourse, that 51.1% deserves much more of a hearing, if democracy is to be equitable.

Why should the rational mind be of less import than the magical mind?

The problem, clearly, is that religious organisations are highly organised and extremely well-funded.

Indeed, the most extreme sections of the religious right are relentless in political lobbying and social influencing, and bank-rolled by rich American fundamentalists.

They have the means to entangle governments in ugly culture wars, and fund expensive litigation which opponents can seldom afford.

Thus, we are an entirely skewed society when it comes to the clout of religion.

This all accounts for the Scottish Government’s absurd contortions around the issue of giving teenagers the right to opt out of religious observance in schools.

What follows matters, as it’s about freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and the rights of children as enshrined in Scots law.

The background is as follows: Scottish schools are currently required to provide religious observance on a 'sufficiently frequent' basis. In non-denominational schools, this mostly comes in the form of worship delivered by Church of Scotland ministers.

Parents have the........

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