REPLIES have been received from the Scottish Office, the President of the Board of Education; the Hon. James Stuart, Chief Government Whip; Sir Archibald Sinclair, Minister of Air; and Sir Murdoch Macdonald, M.P., to a resolution of the Synod of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland on the subject of religious instruction in schools. The resolution which was passed by the Synod at a meeting in Glasgow in November, dealt with proposed legislation as outlined in the Speech from the Throne, and was as follows:—”As religion is basic to the formation of character and the fostering of the Christian virtues essential to a just and worthy social order, the Synod of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, met at Glasgow, on the 19th day of November, 1942, conscious of the clamant need of the youth of the nation being grounded in Christian instruction, earnestly request Parliament to legislate for the instruction in religious knowledge in the schools. For the purity and preservation of such instruction the Bible is to be received and taught for what it proclaims itself to be, viz., the inspired Word of God, to the exclusion of Modernist attacks upon its veracity. To this end it should be enacted that the teaching of religious truth (doctrine) in Training Colleges for teachers should likewise be strictly orthodox—that is based on the fact of the Bible being the inspired Word of God—the supreme rule of faith and manners.”
The reply from the Scottish Office informed the Rev. R. R. Sinclair, Wick, Clerk to the Synod, that the Secretary of State, Mr. Thomas Johnston, had noted the terms of the resolution expressing the Synod’s views regarding the necessity for provision for religious education in future educational enactments. The Hon. James Stuart, the Chief Government Whip, in his acknowledgment, said:—”As you probably know, the proposed Education Bill has not yet been introduced, but I am glad to have the views of the Synod on the question of religious instruction in schools and colleges.” Sir Murdoch Macdonald replied:—”I am in whole-hearted agreement with the necessity for the teaching of religion to the young in schools. I am also in favour of teachers being people who themselves are educated to regard the Bible as a source of inspiration and who are capable of expounding it to our children.” Sir Archibald Sinclair, Minister of Air, wrote that the Synod could rest assured he would carefully bear in mind the views expressed, while the private secretary of Mr. R. A. Butler, Minister of Education, who was away from home at the time of the receipt of the resolution, said that the Synod’s views would be placed before the Minister.