The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. (Photo: Getty/iStock)
The Scottish Parliament has narrowly passed legislation which critics say will “exacerbate” family tensions and could effectively pit parents against their children.
The row centres on the Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty) (Scotland) Bill, which would allow children to override their parents’ decision to withdraw them from religious observances.
The Scottish government claims that the bill is necessary in order for Scotland to meet standards set by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). The legislation also removes the right to withdraw from Religious and Moral Education, which covers a range of religious and world views in an “objective, critical and pluralistic” way.
Before the bill was passed the Church of Scotland warned that it could “exacerbate” family tensions and lead to unnecessary strife.
Following the passage of the bill, John Denning, head of education at The Christian Institute, said, “For the vast majority of children, the best action the State can take is to empower parents to fulfil their unique role.
“Pitting children’s and parents’ rights against one another is a gross mischaracterisation of the UNCRC and creates a pretext for undue and ill-informed interference by the State.
“This approach not only undermines parents but forces teachers into the difficult position of taking sides with a child against their parents, damaging a relationship of trust that is crucial for the education of the child.”
This is not the first time the Scottish government has been accused of stirring up family tensions.
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 has been criticised for criminalising “stirring up hatred” even if it occurs in private conversations within the home.
Before the bill came into effect, the Scottish Police Federation said, “We are firmly of the view this proposed legislation would see officers policing speech and would devastate the legitimacy of the police in the eyes of the public.”
The police added that it represented a move towards “the potential policing of what people think or feel, as well as the criminalisation of what is said in private”.
In 2019, Scotland’s then Education Secretary John Swinney – now the First Minister – was forced to abandon the Scottish government’s controversial ‘Named Person’ scheme which would have allowed state officials to designate each child with an adult responsible for monitoring their “wellbeing” up to the age of 18.
Critics, including The Christian Institute, had branded the plans a “snooper’s charter”. The Scottish government was forced into a humiliating climbdown following a successful legal challenge by The Christian Institute and other organisations.
