Stagecoach tycoon Sir Brian Souter has hailed marriage as the building block of society, amidst calls for it to be redefined to allow same-sex marriage.
Sir Brian also warned against creating a “Babylonian” society where sex is seen as “primarily a recreational activity”.
The businessman’s comments come as concern mounts over attempts to redefine marriage by the Governments at Holyrood and Westminster.
Redefine
Sir Brian also warned that it is becoming increasingly difficult for those who support the traditional family to speak out.
During an interview with The Sunday Times Sir Brian said: “We are arguing here about what kind of society we want to live in.
“Are we going to be in a Babylonian-Greek type of society, where sex is primarily a recreational activity, or are we going to stick with the Judeo-Christian tradition, where procreation is something that we want to put within a marriage context?
“These two different philosophies are beginning to emerge and quite honestly the issue about gay relationships is a small side-product from that discussion.
Implode
“I think it was Hillary Clinton — who would consider herself a liberal — who said you need a certain percentage of stable marriage-based families for society not to implode. It is an interesting quote because it is right. It is about where we put the emphasis.”
He added: “It is definitively the case that people who hold the view that the traditional marriage-based family is the building block of society — and that is a pretty wide group of people including humanists and agnostics as well as people of faith — are feeling somewhat marginalised.
“I really think we want to get away from a polarised discussion about one alternative lifestyle.
Homosexuality
“The real issue is a much wider issue about how society is going to be in the future. It’s about the way our whole society holds together.”
Sir Brian has previously led the campaign to prevent the repeal of Clause 28, which outlawed the promotion of homosexuality in schools.
The Stagecoach tycoon’s nomination for a knighthood earlier this year was criticised by homosexual activists because of his Christian beliefs.