Scottish secularists are seeking a change in the
law in order to remove religious leaders from local authority education
committees.

The Local Government Act stipulates that three
religious representatives should sit on council education committees but a
petition has been lodged with the Scottish Parliament to have this changed, the
Scotsman reports.

Colin Emerson, vice chairman of the Edinburgh
Secular Society, describes the position of religious figures on the boards as
“undemocratic, unfair and discriminatory”.

The petition is supported by Patrick Harvie, a
Green Member of the Scottish Parliament, and Sandy Howat, a Scottish Nationalist
Party councillor.

But Fr Tom Boyle, Assistant General Secretary of
the Scottish Bishops’ Conference, who presently sits on East Renfrewshire
education committee, described the move as a bid to remove religious influence
from public life.

He added: “Most church representatives are people
of wide experience in education: retired teachers, head teachers or university
lecturers. Those who are clergy are usually quite experienced too.”

“This betrays their ignorance of schools in
Scotland, which had their origins in the churches before they were transferred
into the state system, and that’s why we take an interest in them, because they
belonged to us.

“As well as that, the Catholic Church is one of
the largest educators in the world, so we have a certain expertise. It’s the
ongoing campaign to remove any influence of religion from public life in our
country.

The ESS petition calls for a repeal of section 124
of the Local Government Act, which ensures religious representation on boards.