James Bundy

Sturgeon’s face mask hypocrisy

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon leaves a service of thanksgiving for Prince Philip (Getty images)

Why is it that the Scottish government’s Covid restrictions permit people to attend a packed pub or nightclub without a face covering but require one in a place of worship? It’s a question to which there is no obvious answer, not least because Nicola Sturgeon herself is content to sit in a church without one, as she did during the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service in Westminster Abbey this week.

Thankfully, the First Minister announced yesterday that this inconsistency will be coming to an end. As of Monday, it will no longer be a legal requirement to wear a face mask in a church, mosque, synagogue, mandir, gurdwara or other places of worship in Scotland.

This is good news. But the fact that the legal requirement to wear face coverings within shops and public transport will be extended shows there are still inconsistencies within the Scottish Government’s response to Covid-19, and these must be called out.

There are still inconsistencies within the Scottish Government’s response to Covid-19

Freedom of religion or belief does not mean faith groups get priority. It means people of faith should be treated equally to those without faith. But with these new restrictions, Scots will rightly be asking why those attending religious services are being prioritised.

This, of course, is a complete flip to what many Scots have been highlighting in the past few months, having argued that the Scottish Government has not given enough priority to those who attend places of worship. But this flip-flopping of the argument does show a deep-rooted problem: the Scottish Government’s lack of literacy on religion or belief. And it is this illiteracy which has resulted in a lack of appreciation for the importance of the fundamental human right of freedom of religion or belief in the first place.

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