Cameron urged to back nurse's crucifix fight
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey is urging the Government to back Christians involved in a landmark legal fight over alleged religious discrimination.
Lobby group Christian Concern said Lord Carey was among tens of thousands writing to David Cameron calling on him to support a Westcountry Christian nurse and a marriage counsellor who have taken a high profile religious discrimination case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Shirley Chaplin was moved to a paperwork role by the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust Hospital after refusing to remove a necklace bearing a crucifix and Gary McFarlane, from Bristol, was sacked for refusing to give sex therapy to homosexuals. Their case has been joined by registrar Lilian Ladele who was disciplined after refusing to conduct civil partnership ceremonies and Nadia Eweida, a British Airways worker sent home for refusing to remove a necklace with a cross or hide it.
An employment tribunal ruled Ms Eweida had not suffered religious discrimination, but the airline changed its uniform policy after the case to allow all religious symbols, including crosses.
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In his submission to the European Court of Human Rights, Lord Carey said: “In a country where Christians can be sacked for manifesting their faith, are vilified by state bodies, are in fear of reprisal or even arrest for expressing their views on sexual ethics, something is very wrong.”
Christian Concern said the Government has until the end of the month to state its position in relation to the cases.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission said earlier this year it sought to intervene in the case and planned to argue existing human rights and equality law has been “insufficiently” interpreted by judges to protect freedom of religion or belief.
Comments
by TreenonPoet
Monday, September 26 2011, 12:51PM
“I agree with JohnnyDale, but I suspect Carey's lack of a case may not be sufficient to ensure that Cameron responds sensibly.
I wrote to David Cameron in 2008 about the Lillian Ladele case. A research assistant replied that there are two competing rights claims: religious rights and sexual orientation rights (which I understand to mean made-up rights and human rights).
Sometimes the political solution is a compromise between lunacy and sense. How is it, for example, that the law allows schools of a religious nature to discriminate against teachers who are of the 'wrong' religion or none?
Whither Trevor Phillips of the Equality and Human Rights Commission? He says "Our business is defending the believer"!”
by JohnnyDale
Monday, September 26 2011, 8:09AM
“I would hope that the PM has more sense than to be taken in by Carey and his ilk.
These people were NOT discriminated against because of their religion, rather they were simply not given the special treatment they demanded. The nurse for example was not told "you can't wear a crucifix", she was told "you can't wear a necklace". She was invited to wear her crucifix as a brooch/badge, but this wasn't good enough for her, because just like all these other extremist Christian activists, she doesn't think that she should have to follow the same rules as everyone else.
There should NO exemptions made to ANY rule or law because of the particular imaginary friend that ANYONE claims to have.”