The senior cleric of the Church of Scotland has criticised the recent “confrontational” television debates on independence and called for leaders on both sides of the divide to condemn the “ugly” behaviour of some of their fringe supporters.
The Right Rev John Chalmers, the moderator of the General Assembly, said: “We hope, with two weeks to go, things do not take an ugly turn.”
He was speaking before a “respectful dialogue” tonight, held at St George’s Tron in Glasgow. John Swinney, the Scottish finance secretary, will debate independence with Lord Wallace of Tankerness, the Liberal Democrat former deputy first minster.
The event is designed to be strikingly different from the two recent televised debates on STV and the BBC, with the audience asked not to applaud during the contributions by the two speakers. Their discussion will be relayed to ten congregations around the country and will be streamed online.
Mr Chalmers said: “The TV debates were too confrontational. There could have been more moderation, of even the way the audience reacted as well as participated.
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“This was in contrast to what we are trying to achieve in our discussion, where we are asking people to listen with respect to one another, to understand that there are people who genuinely hold the other position, and to acknowledge that it is all right to hold that position and still be friends.
“If we are truly listening to what the other person has to say, then we are just not waiting for our opportunity to denounce it. We are taking the time to say, ‘I heard what you said. This is what I believe.’ ”
Mr Chalmers said he was concerned by the activities of fringe groups, both in terms of online abuse, and a rising trend of verbal abuse in the streets.
A man recently appeared in court charged with online threats against Alex Salmond, while Jim Murphy, one of the most prominent speakers in the Better Together campaign, was pelted with eggs while addressing a street meeting in Kirkcaldy last week.
“I know that this has been down to the minority, but minorities disturb the majority,” Mr Chalmers said. “Whether it is ugly threats being made to the first minister or Jim Murphy’s tour being interrupted by a semi-mob on the edge, democracy does not deserve that. I wish both parties would speak out more about this, and say that they would rather none of this would happen.”
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Tonight’s discussion would be an opportunity for the church to say, “keep the temperature down”, he said, adding: “If we are going to make the most of working together on September 19, then we are going to need not to fall out at this stage.
“It has been a long campaign. For the most part it has been civilised. Let’s keep it that way.”