The Christian campaign group CARE (Christian Action Research & Education) is calling on politicians of all parties to pledge themselves to a new social policy in Scotland.

CARE has produced a manifesto for the elections covering areas as diverse as marriage & the family, religious freedom, faith-based social action, health & social services, justice, education, community development and sustainability.

The charity is calling on candidates for this year's Scottish Parliament and local authority elections to sign up to a range of policies including:

•the promotion of marriage by the Scottish Executive and local authorities, funding for parenting courses and a national target to reduce the rate of divorce,
•safeguarding the right of faith communities and individuals to express and practice their religion
•working with faith communities to provide valuable social services
•resisting attempts to introduce euthanasia and physician assisted suicide
•the introduction of a system of informed consent which includes pre-abortion counselling prior to termination of pregnancy
•measures to tackle human trafficking, a form of modern day slavery
•the provision of abstinence-based sex education in schools
•placing a duty on local authorities to assess the level of demand for denominational education for any faith and to respond to this demand where it exists
•significant extra investment in affordable housing, and
•recognition of the environmental cost of family breakdown which leads to pressure on the greenbelt for additional housing.

Commenting on the manifesto CARE's Chief Executive, Nola Leach said: "With this manifesto we are aiming to open up the debate on social policy in Scotland.

"At a time when questions are being asked about the effectiveness of the Scottish Parliament, we believe that the real issues are not about structures and processes but rather about policies and the Parliament's approach to social issues.

"The churches and faith communities have a crucial role to play in civil society and our elected representatives should recognise this fact. The Scottish Executive and local authorities cannot resolve all the social ills of society on their own. The marginalisation of Christian believers by a secular agenda only adds to the problem."