The Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland has echoed sentiments from a prominent Highland MSP who said that Christian politicians were pressurised into “hiding” their faith.
Dave Thompson, who steps down as Scottish Parliament representative for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch in May, made the comments last week ahead of a debate at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival on Sunday (23 August).
He is being backed by Free Church Moderator Rev David Robertson, who said there was “a culture of intimidation and bullying” against those seeking to stand for Biblical values.
Mr Robertson said: “Dave Thompson is absolutely correct. There is a culture of intimidation and bullying which does not reflect well on Scottish society.
“In a society that is supposed to be about ‘equality’ it is incredibly sad that Christians are so discriminated against that they feel pressured into hiding their faith.
“I am personally aware of certain situations where politicians who are Christian have received hate mail, been advised not to mention their Christianity and told that they cannot speak about their Christian values. Dave Thompson’s statement just reflects that.
“It would be good to live in a Scotland where we were free to discuss ideas, have principles and practice our faith, without the intimidation and bullying that seems to be part and parcel of much of Scottish life.
“The trouble is that having dispensed with Christianity we are left in a situation where the State becomes absolutist in everything and those who seek political power do not want any challenge to their absolutist ethos.”
The Free Church Moderator added: “In particular the LGBT lobby are so intolerant that the minute a candidate is selected they demand to know where they stand on LGBT issues- and then threaten them if they don’t conform to their particular views.”
Last week Dave Thompson MSP said that many Christian politicians are “pressured” into either being “very quiet” or “hiding” their faith altogether.
Instead, he called on Christians across society to be more open about their faith.
This report also appeared on Premier and several other media sources.