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Hello and welcome to Spectator Out Loud. Each week we choose three pieces from the magazine and ask their writers to read them aloud.

I'm Oscar Gregenson and on the podcast this week. Do politics and religion mix?

Isabel Hardman reads her piece on what she calls the secular inquisition.

Christopher Howes tells us about the transformative power of folk costume,

and Lucy Dunn read her notes on meal deals.

Up first, Isabel Hardman.

The Secular Inquisition. Why must Christian politicians defend their beliefs?

What did Kate Forbes' supporters expect would happen when the Scottish Finance Secretary

and Scottish National Party leadership candidate

was asked whether she would have voted for the legalisation of gay marriage if she had been

in the Scottish Parliament at the time. She said that she wouldn't because, as a devout Christian,

she believes marriage is between a man and a woman. She added that if she became the first

minister, she would not row back on rights

that already exist. In response to her honest answer, several of her backers threw their hands up

in horror and withdrew their support. One of her own finance ministers said he was unable to continue

to support Kate's campaign because equal marriage was one of Holyrood's greatest achievements.

Others followed suit, all sounding surprised that someone who has always been open about her

membership of the Free Church of Scotland might hold true to its teaching, even when a big job came

along. Even if they hadn't known Forbes personally very well before they backed her, surely they understood the religious landscape of their country.

The We Freeze, as they are referred to in Scotland,

are known to hold socially conservative views on marriage, abortion and other moral issues.

...