Broadcast March 25 2011
If you haven’t done so already, Sunday is the time for us to fill out our Scottish Census Questionnaire. One of the questions on that form invites us to state whether or not we have a religious affiliation. I think I’m right in saying that it is the only question that is described as optional.
The British Humanist Association have been vocal in calling for people who have no faith to say so clearly, believing that some people may be tempted to describe themselves as “Christian” for cultural reasons.
The BHA fear that the result may be that religious faith in Scotland will appear more prevalent than it really is. And in a recent statement they worry that “public policies in matters of religion and belief will unduly favour religious lobbies and discriminate against people who do not live their lives under religion”.
But I think these fears are unlikely to be realised.
All our government institutions, media outlets and educational establishments are primarily secularist. I can think of no walk of life (outside the church itself) where to be a Christian is to be seen as advantageous. On the contrary, people who claim religious faith these days are often regarded with some alarm, and sometimes with good reason. No longer is it believed that to be a good person you must have faith in God and attend church regularly.
The days of the Church having a privileged place in society (what was once called Christendom) are long gone.
And while some in the church may bemoan this, I actually think this is a good thing.
First, and straightforwardly, because no group of people ought to be privileged over any other, and second, because for Christians it frees us up to do what we are really supposed to be doing - following the teachings of Jesus. And those teachings are radical, countercultural and often at odds with Empire and Establishment.
Whether you choose to answer this question or not, I don’t think we need fear the outcome.
What we need in our society is freedom for all of us to live peacefully by our own beliefs and values, and that’s whether we are religious or not.