Six Labour MPs have called for Catholic schools to be abolished in Scotland to create a more integrated education system, it emerged today.
Their views contradict those of First Minister Jack McConnell, who has consistently ruled out scrapping faith schools.
Mr McConnell has said he would like to see more Catholic and non-denominational schools sharing the same campus facilities, such as sports grounds or eating areas.
But in an interview with Holyrood Magazine, junior defence minister Dr Lewis Moonie said the concept of separate schooling was “divisive” and should be the responsibility of the church, not the taxpayer.
Mr Moonie said: “There should be no state-funded faith schools.
“Providing faith schools is not the job of the state, as religion has nothing to do with education.
“Why should we pay for the Roman Catholic Church to indoctrinate our children? I apply the same logic to separate schools for other faiths.”
The Kirkcaldy MP added: “Are faith schools divisive? Bloody right they are divisive.
“It is not the job of the state at all to do this; it is the job of the church.”
Ochil MP Martin O’Neill also told the magazine he backed a more integrated approach.
Mr O’Neill said: “Personally, I feel there is no place for faith schools in modern society, and I think we are getting near the time where we will have to move on.
“I want a secular system of education without any nod towards the direction of religion.
“We won’t get that just now, because we have a minority that feel it has rights to which it is entitled.
“I’d far rather we address whether religion is a necessary part of the school curriculum.”
Ian Davidson, MP for Glasgow Pollok, said he felt public opinion was moving toward the abolition of faith schools, while Aberdeen North MP Malcolm Savidge said people in the city had enjoyed better community relations since segregation was ended 30 years ago.
Mr Savidge told Holyrood Magazine: “My view is that it would be much better to have schools that are genuinely non-denominational and secular.
“The religious views of parents should not be taken into school.
“The Aberdeen model, in which schools are fully integrated, is something to which the whole of Scotland should aspire.
“The hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church should reconsider its position on this.
“Scotland would be a better place without faith schools.”
Aberdeen Central MP Frank Doran and Western isles MP Calum MacDonald also called for an end to segregated schooling.