THE Church of Scotland has been accused of a "total capitulation" over proposals to change the description of religious assemblies in schools.

Professor Donald Macleod, former Principal of the Free Church College in Edinburgh, also said the Kirk was guilty of "intellectual incoherence, theological illiteracy and sheer lack-of-fight" over the move.

The Kirk's Church and Society Council and the Humanist Society of Scotland have proposed to MSPs that "religious observance" should be changed to "time for reflection".

They said changing the legal definition could ease the concerns of parents who withdrew their children from them.

The move has attracted criticism from the Free Church this week and in the latest attack, Professor Macleod said: "Not only are they (the Kirk) guilty of total capitulation, aggravated by the fact that they are the official representatives of the Christian faith of the Scottish people, but they have laced their betrayal with sanctimonious humbug.

"How can a body professedly committed to converting men and women to faith in Jesus Christ describe as 'colleagues' a society committed to promoting atheism?"

But Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, convenor of the Kirk's Church and Society Council, said: "We are keen to ensure that these events remain at the heart of the spiritual development of young people of different faiths and of no faith.

"It would protect this important time in school life and would better describe the inclusive nature of assemblies."