What place for Christianity in an independent Scotland? 23/7/14
Sir,
While there has been much discussion on the merits or otherwise of Scottish independence there has been little material available on the issue from a Christian point of view. The matter is not a purely political one as it is likely to have consequences for the cause of Christ in our land.
The Bible declares that “Righteousness exalteth a nation” (Prov. 14:34) and it warns us that the nation and kingdom that will not serve the Lord shall be “utterly wasted” (Isa. 60:12). What then would the proposals in the Scottish Government's White Paper mean for the place of Christianity in an independent Scotland?
Scotland's Future makes very little reference to the Christian religion and what it has to say regarding a new written constitution for Scotland leads us to the conclusion that this important document is likely to be overwhelmingly secular in character. While Scotland's Future proposes "no change to the legal status of any religion or of Scotland’s churches" the process by which the new constitution is to be drawn up means that the nation's Presbyterian establishment, which is secure under the Union, could no longer be guaranteed.
Scotland's Future contains a commitment to work towards the repeal of the measures in the Act of Settlement which bar Roman Catholics from inheriting the throne – a move which, if ever successful, would change the Protestant character of our nation. The fact is that we owe our precious religious and civil liberties to the Reformation and to the Protestant Christianity which was the driving force behind it and we forget these things at our peril.
A document examining the proposals for independence has been produced by the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) and may be of interest to your readers. It is available on the denomination’s website at: www.freechurchcontinuing.org/publications
Rev. David Blunt
Free Church (Continuing) Manse
17 Knockline
Isle of North Uist