IN your editorial on the Christians bullying a shop owner on the isle of Lewis over Sabbath observance (“Further compromise may be needed on the Sabbath”, The Herald, November 14), you state that "ultimately, it is up to the people of Lewis to decide among themselves how far they wish to keep the Sabbath special”.

I disagree. That is just a call for the sort of collectivism which is what causes the problem in the first place, as seen in the contemporaneous conflict over the local council opening the Stornoway leisure centre on Sundays. Contrary to the views of the Sabbatarians, there is more than one “community” on Lewis.

It is for each individual to decide on their own attitude and observance of the Sabbath or indeed their allegiance to any form of religious ritual, up to and including no observance at all. No-one's chosen observance of it should in any way, shape or form impinge on the rights and freedoms of others to do something entirely different.

Alistair McBay,

National Secular Society,

5 Atholl Crescent,

Edinburgh.