The Scottish Government has said it would not be getting involved in any campaign examining the case for an official national anthem.
Gerry Hendricks of the UK and Ireland relations, protocol and honours team said ministers also believed the exercise should not be led by any single political party.
But he added that the government accepted that an anthem was an important part of a nation’s culture and heritage and helped to “inspire pride and a sense of belonging” that transcended ethnicity, religion and social class.
Holyrood’s public petitions committee is currently considering a call from Aberdeen man Chris Cromar who wants Flower of Scotland to be made the country’s national anthem.
The Aberdeen University student from Bridge of Don had claimed the song could help unite the country in the wake of last year’s contentious independence referendum.
Mr Cromar, 22, said it had been embraced by football and rugby fans and insisted the lyrics are were not anti-English as has been claimed by some detractors.
In a letter to the committee, Mr Hendricks said: “Our national song should be an anthem for all the people of Scotland with our diverse heritage and traditions.
“Scotland has many fine tunes, both traditional and contemporary, including ‘Flower of Scotland’, which could be stirring national anthems, but it is important that any choice has wide public support.
“Ministers believe that consideration of whether Scotland should officially adopt a national anthem and if so, what that might be, should not be led by the Scottish Government or by any single political party.”
Football fans have narrowly backed Flower of Scotland as the song of choice.
A total of 56% of 35,000 responses to a consultation carried out by the Scottish Football Association said they supported the idea while 44% were opposed.
But the idea of the Corries penned song being officially adopted has proved controversial.
A man called David Whyte has told MSPs he thought the lyrics were “backward looking”, “militaristic” and “celebrate war”.
Another member of the public, David Sanderson, has suggested that a national or worldwide competition to write a new anthem could be organised and a “X Factor” style selection process could be used.