EU Court to Hear Christian Discrimination Cases
One of the highest courts in Europe will hear testimony from four Christians who claim they were wrongly terminated due to the fact that they were Christians.
The European Court of Human Rights, located in Strasbourg, France, next week will hear four separate cases involving British Christians who claim they were unjustly terminated from their position due to discrimination against their Christian beliefs.
Two of the cases deal with a person's right to manifest their personal religious beliefs while at work, specifically with wearing a cross or crucifix in the workplace.
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The first case involves Shirley Chaplin, a former nurse with the Royal Devon and Exeter National Health System Trust and the second involves Nadia Eweida, who once worked at a check-in desk for British Airways at Heathrow Airport. Both of the defendants claim they were fired from their jobs after they refused to remove a cross necklace that they both had worn for years, according to reports in The Sunday Telegraph.
Reports indicate that they were only told to cover or remove the cross necklaces after each of the respective ladies uniforms were changed, exposing the crosses.
The other two cases concern the equality rights of homosexuals and the conflict that sometimes arises when homosexuals exercise those rights conflicting with a person's religious beliefs, such as the case with registering same-sex couples or providing professional counseling.
Lillian Ladele, a former registrar with Islington Council, was dismissed from her position after refusing to perform civil ceremonies because it conflicted with her religious beliefs, although other staff members were able to conduct the ceremonies. The Islington Council cited that her actions went against the council's equality policies.
The last case to be heard involves Gary McFarlane, who was cleared to provide relationship counseling for both homosexual and heterosexual couples for the British charity, Relate.
McFarlane was terminated after concerns that his Christian beliefs would prevent him from providing sex therapy to gay couples.
"We believe … our law strikes the right balance between employees' rights to express their beliefs, and the needs of employers to run their business," a spokesperson for the House of Commons said in a statement.
