A LEAFLET sent out to around 5000 Christian leaders in Scotland who regularly go to church or chapel is causing “quite a stir”, as well as generating debate.

The booklet – Scotland the Nation: a Christian Case for Independence – has been sent out by Christians for Independence (CFI) in a bid to reach Scotland’s 350,000 or so regular church or chapel-goers.

It presents what is described as the Biblical and historical significance for claiming Scotland to be a nation and shows how support for indy “is compatible with the core Christian beliefs of justice, compassion and love”.

A multi-denominational team from CFI compiled the document, which was edited by former SNP MSP Dave Thompson, interim leader of the fledgling political umbrella group Action for Independence (AFI).

It will be formally launched on Zoom tomorrow, St Andrews Day, when the main speaker will be Rev Dr Doug Gay, principal of Trinity College and lecturer in Practical Theology at the University of Glasgow.

However, The Sunday National has been given exclusive access to the publication, which features contributions from, amongst others, Roman Catholic historian Owen Dudley Edwards and solicitor Neil DM MacLeod, from the Free Church of Scotland.

“There are around 350,000 folk who attend church or chapel on a Sunday and most of them voted No in 2014, so they are an important constituency for the Yes movement to reach,” said Thompson.

“The booklet has been arriving through letterboxes from yesterday and I think it’s fair comment to say it has caused quite a stir, and is generating a lot of debate.”

CFI was established in 2009 by a few like-minded souls who found themselves looking for a Sunday service during the SNP conference.

“On a Sunday morning, when the conference has started to be held on Sundays, we would bump into each other at our local church service on the Sunday morning,” said Thompson.

“We got together and decided to hold our own service when the SNP conference clean-up was on Sunday mornings.

“Then we started also holding fringe events of our own on various different subjects over the years, and the brochure is an extension of what we did back then.”

Although he is AFI’s interim leader Thompson said there was no link between it and CFI, adding: “Christians don’t tend to promote the fact that they’re Christian. As such, they just get on with the work and communication. Christians have always been involved in politics.”

A Scottish Independence Foundation (SIF) grant covered production costs and a free pdf of the booklet is available on the CFI website.

Rev Dr Doug Gay, from Church of Scotland, said, it was a timely and important statement: “If you are a Christian who has not supported independence in the past or who is not sure how you would vote in another referendum, I encourage you to read it.”

SNP Councillor Chris McEleny, a Catholic, said: “As we look to the future, an independent Scotland, making its own decisions, gives us the opportunity to create a fairer nation, one that Christians should be integral to.”

MSP John Mason, a Baptist, added: “I do hope that this booklet will help the SNP and the Yes movement in welcoming people of faith; and I hope that it will help committed Christians to feel at home in the independence movement.”