THE Secular Society activists are amusing.

Now they want children to take part in Nativity plays ("Catholic schools warned they face legal action if they exclude children who opt out of religious assemblies", The Herald, September 24). They used to object to this activity.

The society's attitude to the Catholic Church is a bit like Ruth Davidson's attitude to the SNP. They look for any excuse to complain.

For example, the Catholic Church teaches that adultery and sodomy are sins. The Secular Society calls them rights. Yet if anyone deemed to be a Catholic commits adultery or sodomy, the Secular Society blames the church.

Funny people.

John Kelly,

87 Roxburgh Street, Kelso.

ROBERT Canning is wrong when he states that children acting in Nativity plays are "obviously" expressing the outlook of their characters and not their own beliefs. Modern nativity plays have their origin in medieval religious drama, in which individuals took dramatic roles to express the core religious beliefs of the community. Acting in these plays meant sublimating one’s individuality to the collective needs of a drama with distinct, religious goals. If one chooses to send one’s child to a faith school, it is reasonable to see its Nativity plays as expressions of the collective faith.

Dr Thomas Rist,

Department of English,

University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen.