UK lawyers say Christians may have to choose between faith and job
September 12, 2012: Attorneys representing the United Kingdom said last week that
Christians might have to forfeit their jobs if they wish to express their faith in
the workplace. “Employees are free to resign if they find their employment incompatible
with their religious beliefs,” government lawyer James Eadie said.
“They can
obtain alternative employment in which they can reflect their religion as they wish.”
His comments were made at a Sept. 4 hearing in Strasbourg before the European Court
of Human Rights, involving four cases of British Christians who claim to have suffered
faith-based discrimination at their places of employment.
The plaintiffs assert
that existing U.K. law insufficiently protects their rights to freedom of religion
and freedom from discrimination at work. Two were kept from wearing crosses, Nadia
Eweida, an employee of British Airways, and Shirley Chaplin, a long-time nurse. The
remaining two are Lilian Ladele, who lost her job with a London borough government
for refusing to conduct civil partnerships, and Gary McFarlane, a therapist who was
fired for saying he was unable to give sex therapy to homosexual couples.
According
to the Daily Mail, Eadie claimed there is “a difference between the professional sphere
where your religious beliefs conflict with other interests and the private sphere.”
“Everyone has the right to express their beliefs, including the right to display religious
symbols, but not an absolute right or a right without limits,” he added. “That does
not mean that in their professional sphere anyone can manifest their religious belief
in any way they choose.”
The lawyers maintained that because the wearing of
a cross is a not a “scriptural requirement” of Christianity, employers are not obliged
to allow it, also noting that the government believes same-sex couples have a right
to equal access to public services. However, leaders of both the Catholic Church and
the Church of England have expressed concern that Christianity is unwelcome in the
public sphere in Britain.
Prime Minister David Cameron had told the House of
Commons in July that the right to wear crosses at work was “an absolutely vital freedom.”
Pope Benedict also spoke to the tensions in the case when he addressed Parliament
during his papal visit to the country in 2010. “There are those who argue – paradoxically
with the intention of eliminating discrimination – that Christians in public roles
should be required at times to act against their conscience,” the pontiff told lawmakers.
“These are worrying signs of a failure to appreciate not only the rights of believers
to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, but also the legitimate role of
religion in the public square.”
All four plaintiffs brought their cases before
the U.K. Employment Tribunal, which dismissed their claims. Their lawsuit before the
court is based on the articles of the European Convention on Human Rights which concern
freedom of religion and prohibition of discrimination. The court's deliberations are
held in private, and the ruling will likely be made in a few months, reported the
Daily Mail.