Moderator: Removing religious observance from schools would fuel extremism

He also warned "intolerance" would result from religious observance and Time for Reflection in schools becoming a a choice for pupils.

But secular organisations have accused the cleric of "an astonishing hypocrisy" and defending, in some instances, a Christian version of "invasive radical extremism".

The Scottish Secular Society (SSS) also claimed there was a gulf between neutral religious education and religious observance, which they said was imposing Christianity on children.

In his New Year Message, Rev Chalmers said schools were the "frontline" in the battle with extremism, describing the rise of religious fundamentalism as the greatest concern currently facing the world.

He described the Scottish education system as amongst the world's best, claiming it "produces free thinking, independent and creative minds".

The Moderator also claimed predictions about the domination of global secularism were now discredited and that it has "never been more important" for religious observance or time for reflection to remain on the curriculum.

His comments as a host of secular and humanist organisations go on the front foot on the role of religion within the education system.

On change has been the shift away focusing largely on state-funded Catholic schools to targeting religion in non-denominational schools.

The Edinburgh Secular Society this year called for the overturning of the legal right of religious representatives to sit on council education committees, the Humanist Society Scotland wanted parents to have the legal right to withdraw their children from religious education and observance, while Secular Scotland went to the Scottish Parliament for a change in the law to make it easier for parents to opt out of religious observance.

Glasgow University has also commenced an extensive research project mapping the historical and current religious privileges in Scotland's laws, which will look at education.

In his message Rev John Chalmers denied he was advocating proselytising, claiming: "Nothing is more dangerous than the radicalised mind and there is nothing worse than the indoctrinated child. We will not, however, defeat such extremism simply by confronting it across battle lines.

"The frontline for winning this battle is education and the school is the place where young minds need to be introduced to the power of critical enquiry. How else will a young person learn tolerance unless they are introduced to the wide ranging menu of different ideas that populate the world.

"Peace in our time will only come when we find the means to respect those with whom we disagree and when we have matured to the point that we can discuss our deepest held views on religion, philosophy and politics without seeking to impose ours on others.

"Such tolerance, however, will not come by removing, as some desire, religious observance from the school curriculum; on the contrary what we should be doing is building on the strong tradition of religious reflection which is currently a part of the Scottish school environment."

Spencer Fildes, chairman of SSS, said: "Mr Chalmers displays an astonishing hypocrisy to say on the one hand he doesn't want to impose his Christian views whilst imposing forced praying to God on children in so-called non-denominational schools.

"His church has held a virtual monopoly on the propagating of his Christian religion for so long he appears to be unaware of it. The privileges of proselytising a purely Christian message are embedded in Scottish law which leaves him little room for manoeuvre if he wants to offer a 'wide ranging menu of different ideas that populate the world'. "Since Religious Observance is here to stay let us give an equal space to other religions. Let us see Imams brought into schools as we do Christian clerics. Let us see prayers given to Allah as we do to Jesus."