Officials of the U.K.'s National Health Service (NHS) have drawn criticism for canceling a plan to put Bibles at every bed in a new hospital in Scotland due to concerns about giving Christianity "preferential treatment."
According to The Express, NHS officials had ordered hundreds of copies of the New Testament from the Gideons for patients at the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, which opened last year.
However, the plan to place the Bibles at every bed in the hospital was abandoned following a complaint that it would promote Christianity over other religions. The officials have decided that patients will have to make a request for Bibles if they want to read one.
The decision has been denounced by some Christian leaders, including Rev. David Robertson of the Free Church of Scotland, who said it was an example of "religious prejudice."
"A small and vociferous group of secular atheist fundamentalists are seeking to impose their values on the whole of Scottish society. Under the pretence of 'fairness' it is seeking to exclude all religion, but especially Christianity, from the public sphere," Robertson said, as reported by The Express.
A spokesman for the Gideons said that the organization has accepted the decision to stop the dissemination of the Scriptures in the hospital.
"I understand the person who made the complaint was not of any religion and they were possibly saying why should the Christians get preferential treatment?" the spokesman said as reported by The Express.
"We discussed this and thought the last thing we want to do is to put people's backs up by being pushy, so we'll accept that," he continued.
A document that that was circulated prior to a meeting of the NHS Dumfries and Galloway board revealed that the planned distribution of Bibles in every room had been "questioned."
A spokesman for NHS Dumfries and Galloway said that all 344 copies of the New Testament are still available to patients, but the plan to place the Bible directly in social areas and bedrooms was halted so that the officials could "consider the most easily accessible yet appropriate locations."
In April, the Surrey Police drew criticism from a secularist organization for accepting 1,000 Bibles from Gideons International.
The National Secular Society (NSS) argued that accepting the donation from Gideons amounted to "religious favouritism."
The Bibles were handed over to the Surrey Christian Police Association during a service on April 24.
A spokesperson for the Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) defended the decision, saying the police force approved of the distribution of Bibles as part of its effort to offer support to officers and staff of all beliefs.
