The Humanist Society of Scotland commissioned a piece of comparability research through the Progressive/YouGov Scottish online Omnibus*. The results were startlingly different.
When asked the Census question, “What religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?” 42% of the adult population in Scotland said ‘None’. But when asked the Humanist Society of Scotland question, “Are you religious?” 56% said ‘No’, 8% said ‘Don’t know’ and 1% skipped the question. Only 35% said ‘Yes’.
Mark Cuthbert, who conducted the survey, is a leading independent research consultant. He says, “This does not stack up. The only explanation is that the Census question significantly overemphasises the commitment of the people of Scotland to religion.”
As Joan writes, “When will this sclerotic, celibate priesthood acknowledge that sex is wrong when it’s coercive, not when it’s between people who aren’t married or who happen to belong to the same gender? When will it realise that its claim to the moral high ground has been undermined by scandal and by a puritan disdain that’s demonstrably incapable of distinguishing between harmless pleasure and abuse?”
We know that many Catholics share our concerns. Only 5% of Catholics in this country agree with the Pope’s ban on contraception. Only 11% of Catholics think that homosexuality is morally wrong, says Peter Tatchell
Good Without God, the site created by the Humanist Society of Scotland as a contribution to the Protest the Pope campaign, attracted 19,310 hits during the course of the Pope’s first day in the UK.
Humanists believe that it’s possible to live good and worthwhile lives guided by compassion and reason without reference to religion or superstition, and that there are more things that unite humanity than divide it.
Or as we say in Scotland, “We’re a’ Jock Tamson’s Bairns”, which means “We’re all the same under the skin”.
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