Association for Skeptical Enquiry

Equality and belief

Some of my fellow atheists and humanists support proposed reforms such as Harriet Harman’s recent Equality Bill, which would deny churches, faith schools and other such belief-based organisations the right to discriminate in accordance with their faith in appointing staff, recruiting students, etc. For instance, churches which hold that God condemns homosexual behaviour would be forced to choose between employing (otherwise suitable) applicants who are gay (and sexually active) and facing prosecution. And, although this measure was watered down (apparently after pressure from the Pope; Roman Catholic institutions are among the most relevant here!) so as to exempt the appointment of priests, the general issue remains.

Earlier measures of this kind have already reduced the public roles of some churches, notably the refusal to exempt church-based adoption agencies from legislation obliging such agencies to consider gay couples as potential parents. As a result of this decision, many previously successful Catholic adoption agencies have in the past year closed down rather than endorse what they regard as sin. (In my view, both sides in that specific issue have arguable cases, given that this affects children, who – as per Dawkins – are not yet really members of a given religion.)

More generally, secularists will obviously welcome the liberation of public life from restrictions and discrimination grounded only in religious belief. On the other hand, churches cannot be expected to compromise on their central tenets; and I think we should consider carefully whether we really wish to exclude them from society, or to force them underground – which evokes dark memories of earlier suppressions and would create an alarming precedent. I suggest that it is both unfair and ill-advised to require a church to employ (especially in a key role) someone whose lifestyle conflicts with the will of God as they honestly see it (whatever that person’s motive in seeking the job). The fact that we as humanists or politically liberal religious believers disagree profoundly with such views is surely not the point.

A related point involves the question of discrimination by political parties. It is easy to agree that a party can reasonably seek to employ only sincere supporters; but should a legal party with racist/culturist goals be allowed to employ only those it deems to be of the right ethnicities?