A Lanarkshire council searching for a religious figure to serve on an education committee has been criticised by a secular group.
The National Secular Society is campaigning to remove legislation that insists three religious representatives must be part of a council's educational committee.
South Lanarkshire Council is currently seeking a third member to join, who will have voting rights on decisions concerning schools in the area.
The local authority was criticised several years ago after Dr Nagy Iskander, a creationist based in East Kilbride, was appointed to the role after being the only applicant.
Dr Iskander is no longer a member of the committee.
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 requires local authorities in Scotland to appoint three religious representatives to their education committees, at least one of whom must be appointed by the Catholic Church and one by the Protestant Church of Scotland.
Megan Manson of the National Secular Society told Lanarkshire Live that appointments such as the upcoming South Lanarkshire role are outdated.
She said: "Reserving a special role in policy-making for representatives of specific religious institutions clearly runs counter to principles of equality.
"It automatically excludes the majority of Scottish citizens based on their religion or belief.
"The law should be changed to remove automatic places on education committees for religious appointees. In the meantime, councils should exercise their power to remove the voting privileges of religious appointees."
In 2019 Perth and Kinross Council voted to amend their regulations on voting procedures so that only elected members with a mandate from the electorate should be allowed to vote on the lifelong learning committee, after a vote on a school closure was controversially decided by two votes from their religious representatives.
SLC stated it believes its members have full voting rights, whether as elected politicians or religious representatives.
Also serving on the committee are two representatives for teachers and a further two for parents and carers.
A spokesman for the council told us : "Local authorities in Scotland are legally required – by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 – to appoint three religious representatives to their education committees, and at least one of them must be appointed from the Catholic Church and one from the Church of Scotland.
"Our understanding of the legislation is that, as full members of the committee, these representatives have the right to vote."
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