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House of Lords Votes To Keep Broader Discrimination Exemptions For Religious Organizations

By Howard M. Friedman

In Britain yesterday, the House of Lords defeated a a government attempt in the pending Equality Bill to narrow the employment discrimination exemptions currently available to religious institutions under the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003. Under that law, religious organizations can discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation in order to comply with religious doctrine or to avoid conflicting with the strongly held religious convictions of a substantial number of the religion's followers. (Sec. 7(3).) The Equality Bill, which consolidates a number of Britain's anti-discrimination laws, would have limited the exemption to individuals whose "employment mainly involves" either "leading or assisting in the observance of liturgical or ritualistic practices of the religion," or "promoting or explaining the doctrine of the religion (whether to followers of the religion or to others)." (See prior posting.)

In the House of Lords, Bishop Scott-Joynt and Baroness O'Cathain, an evangelical, proposed amendments to retain the 2003 exemptions. (Christianity Today). According to Christian Institute, in three separate votes yesterday (216- 178, 195-174 and 177-172), the peers voted to approve Lady O'Cathain's amendments.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on January 26, 2010 (boomark / email).