People of faith fearful of politics, according to Kate Forbes
Kate Forbes, former Scottish finance secretary and leadership candidate, has commented that people of faith are growing fearful of politics and are being pushed from political life.
Ms Forbes emerged from maternity leave and was “considered a frontrunner” to replace Nicola Sturgeon earlier this year, after the former First Minister and SNP leader stepped down in February.
From the outset, Ms Forbes received backlash for her pro-life position as well as her views on same-sex marriage and for stating that having children outside of marriage would conflict with her faith.
In a recent BBC interview, she stated:
"I'd always been open about my views so there was no surprise that they were a topic of discussion and - in some quarters - concern.
"The surprise was that those who knew my position, immediately distanced themselves from me."
She asks, "If I had not been honest, if I had tried to make certain things more palatable or politically correct, would I have been more successful? Perhaps."
Ms Forbes added she doesn’t regret holding to her views and that she received "thousands" of messages from people who completely disagreed with her but supported her right to expression.
Following Humza Yousef’s election as SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister, Ms Forbes left government and returned to her position as backbench MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
Reflecting on her experience, Forbes says that people of faith are being pushed out of political life.
"I do think there is a fear which characterises right now any discussions about faith.
"I do think people of faith are a minority and certainly my experience is they are, by and large, fearful.
"So they either feel like they have to hide their faith or adapt it and that is a cause for concern."
As a member of the Free Church of Scotland, Forbes holds to her faith "in its entirety" and found that her views were "100%" scrutinised more than Mr Yousaf, who is a Muslim.
Yes, I talked at the time about fairly orthodox mainstream Christian teaching but my following the teachings of Jesus - which is based on a belief in the Bible - means that I don't feel I'm in a position to just pick and choose what I believe is truth or not.
Despite the backlash she experienced, Ms Forbes says she was encouraged when she secured 48% of the SNP vote and by the by "the backlash to the backlash" against her.
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People of faith fearful of politics, according to Kate Forbes