A judicial defence of religious liberty is long overdue
by Andrea Williams, Artillery Row:
Christians should not be discriminated against because of their religious beliefs.
In theory, the Equality Act 2010 prohibits dismissing people because of their religious beliefs. Religion, belief, or lack of belief are all recognised as “protected characteristics”. Any justification offered by an employer — however benign, however persuasive — is no defence to a claim for direct discrimination.
And yet, we read regular reports of Christians losing jobs for sharing their “offensive” beliefs on such issues as transgenderism, same-sex marriage, abortion, Islam, etc. In all such cases, the employer’s defence in the Employment Tribunal has been the same: we have nothing against your beliefs, it is all about the way you expressed your beliefs — at the wrong time or a wrong place, or with the wrong choice of words, wrong tone of voice, wrong audience, etc. More often than not, this splitting of hairs has been accepted by Tribunals.
In a high-profile Christian discrimination case due to be heard by the Court of Appeal later this year, Higgs v Farmor’s School, the second highest court in the land will either tick or cross that approach.
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