A SENIOR Scottish Catholic Church figure has called for schools with an atheist ideology to be set up if demand from parents exists.

The church’s official spokesman Peter Kearney said “secular humanist” schools may be needed to satisfy society's desire to cater for all beliefs.

Writing in today’s Herald Mr Kearney also called for an expansion of faith-based schools, claiming there was a “scream for conformity” within Scottish education.

Criticising those who have described denominational schools as “educational apartheid”, he accused detractors of faith within education of “trashing the principle of plurality” and undermining freedom of belief.

Mr Kearney added: “Why should tax-paying parents who follow a secular humanist belief system be denied the opportunity to have their children educated in accordance with their beliefs?

“If demand exists and secular humanist schools were to be managed and regulated in accordance with national guidance and practice, as Catholic schools are, then good luck to them.”

The intervention by Mr Kearney comes on the back of a push by parents in Glasgow for the country's first Muslim school, a plan supported by the Catholic Church.

The vast majority of Scotland's schools are non-denominational but the Education (Scotland) Act 1918 gave the go-ahead to separate denominational state schools, all but four of which are Catholic.

Although there are huge localised differences around the role of faith within the non-denominational sector, most schools are culturally Christian. Religious education in all Scots schools is also compulsory and again leans towards the Christian tradition, with emphasis on major festivals such as Christmas and the New Testament. Non-denominational schools with a multi-ethnic mix often invite representatives of other faith groups in for religious observance.

Mr Kearney added: "From Australia and Canada to England and Wales diverse and varied societies seem perfectly comfortable with a diverse and varied education system.

"Schools can reflect the plurality of beliefs in society or ignore that reality and impose a single belief system on all, removing choice in this way, would be the height of intolerance.

"There is no reason why the Scottish education system shouldn't flourish by increasing the diversity which Gaelic, Catholic, music and Jewish schools already bring to the sector."

Professor Bob Davis, one of Scotland's leading educationalists and an expert in the role of faith in schools, backed the calls for a more diverse system.

The former head of Glasgow University's school of education said: "We can in Scotland have a successful combination of locally-rooted and governed schools that are nonetheless still open to more diversity of world view and philosophy that is currently experienced.

“It can be seen as an invitation to all kinds of groups, faith and non-faith, other churches and organisations which have distinctive philosophical approaches to education. This could be in full collaboration with local authorities and non-governmental bodies to diversify our system.

“We are a small enough country to do this within the state system.”

But vice-chair of the Scottish Secular Society Robert Canning said "champions of faith schooling" were merely seeking "the choice to use other people's taxes...to promote a religion to their children".

He added: "Those who do not wish their taxes to be used for the promotion of religion get no choice in the matter, while members of belief groups without sufficient numbers to gain their own schools are denied the choices they would prefer. The Scottish Secular Society support choice in the raising of children but hold that the state education system cannot be expected to supply whatever some parents might choose, while denying others.

"If all schools were neutral on religion and atheism, promoting and opposing neither, they could all reflect cultural diversity by accepting all pupils on equal terms. Whereas some want a diversity of schools, the Scottish Secular Society want schools of diversity.”