The world has endured many faces of prejudice; it is a master of disguise, but strip away the mask and there is only one identity: fear.
Dave Scott, campaign director for Nil by Mouth, wrote of sectarianism: "Put simply, it is 'fear of difference' and we need to explore every avenue open to us in order to understand these fears and break this depressing cycle of bigotry" (Letters, January 8).
I think he is spot on. Sectarianism is, when stripped of its mask, just another face of fear; however, the manifestations of this fear are complex. Sectarianism in modern Scotland is not predominantly religious, but a web of political, cultural and social misunderstanding embedded in parts of Scottish culture. The only way to counter this type of prejudice is through relationship and bridge-building in communities.
The Church of Scotland and the Catholic Church work and stand together in their condemnation of sectarianism: we say "Not in our name".
Sectarianism isn't about "them and us" – we are all one in this. Together, we must do as much as possible to show we are united in our approach in trying to eradicate sectarianism, not least to help undermine those who seek to abuse religion and foster hatred.
The real changes will come through relationships as it is in common tasks that we break down barriers built on perceptions of difference. The experience of those trapped in their own prejudice will only be changed when they encounter themselves out of their fear, and that can only happen when they discover their neighbour in those once perceived as "other".
There is also a need for sensitivity and balance on the part of the church. The temptation to overreact to opposing views – seeing sectarianism in every comment – must be resisted. We all have a right to voice opinion in the public square as long as that voice is not one of hatred.
Tolerance and respect must be the hallmark of our encounters and explorations in a modern Scotland.
Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, Convener of the Church of Scotland's Church and Society Council,
121 George Street, Edinburgh.
The figures relating to religiously aggravated crimes should be treated with caution (Letters, January 9).
More than half the victims were police officers. You can add to that other public workers. Offences often involved drink, sometimes drugs. A typical offence was a drunk being arrested and abusing a police officer whose religion he didn't actually know. Such incidents indicate the religious background of the offender not of any victim. Indeed, the religion of victims was not recorded and there were also cases where no individuals were targeted.
In addition, it is worth noting that there were more than six times as many racially aggravated offences as religiously aggravated ones. If the figures really show Scotland has a dreadful problem of sectarianism then the country must be absolutely exploding with racism. How many people believe this to be the case?
George Taylor,
176 Bo'ness Road,
Grangemouth.
My letter of January 8 has been referred to by a number of respondents. I suggested that minorities were often pressured to blend in and adopt the beliefs and behaviour of more powerful majorities. At no time did I suggest Catholics in Scotland experience persecution akin to that directed at black people in the US.
Peter Kearney,
Director,
Catholic Media Office,
5 St Vincent Place, Glasgow.
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