Stop living in denial, says Free Church Moderator

SCOTLAND’S church leaders should “stop living in denial” about the state of Christianity, the Free Church Moderator has said in his Easter message.

Reverend David Robertson, the Free Kirk Moderator, also challenged research commissioned by the Church of Scotland which claimed attendance of Sunday services was not an accurate indicator of Christian belief.

Mr Robertson said: “On the one hand there is the trivialisation and the dumbing down of Christianity, on the other, church leaders in denial about the real state of the churches.

“On a recent radio programme I heard church leaders speaking about the ‘fact’ that 10 per cent of the population go to church, and 20 per cent are committed Christians but do not go.”

The minister said: “The 10 per cent figure is greatly exaggerated in most areas of Scotland. And the 20 per cent figure is the kind of myth that professional clergy tell themselves in order to make their jobs more palatable.

“The trouble is that we have failed to come to terms with the fact that Christendom has gone, and that Scotland is now one of the most secularised post-Christian nations in the world.

“The good news is that this means that we have a tremendous mission field.”

His comments come days after a Church of Scotland-commissioned study found that two-thirds of people who abandon the Kirk still retain a strong spiritual belief.

The research suggested a new “churchless faith”, with those who attend Sunday services just the “tip of the iceberg of the total Christian community”.

Speaking about the “mission field” in his Easter message, Mr Robertson said: “The bad news is that far too much of the church cannot seem to agree on what the mission is.

“When the church cannot even agree on its own core message, never mind the moral and social positions it should take, it is little wonder that the world does not listen.

“Easter is about renewal, resurrection and new life. The church in Scotland is in desperate need of all of these.”