Anglican church bans women from vicar's job on 'biblical' grounds

From The Telegraph-

An Anglican church has banned women from applying to its vacant post of vicar on ‘biblical’ grounds.

Holy Trinity Church in Wallington in south west London will now issue a job advert that specifically excludes female clerics from seeking the job.

The Church of England said such a move was rare but not unique. A spokesman said that because vicars and priests are ‘postholders’ rather than employees, the church does not fall foul of equal opportunities laws.

More here-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/12/22/anglican-church-bans-women-vicars-job-biblical-grounds/

Diversity’s Limits at Dartmouth

From The Living Church (A must read) Written by a member of the call committee,

James Tengatenga, the Anglican bishop of Southern Malawi, will not be the next chaplain and dean of the Tucker Foundation at Dartmouth College; the offer was extended and then later rescinded this summer. What does this unfortunate episode tell us about the limits of diversity at an elite liberal arts college?

When the provost’s office asked me to serve on the search committee for a new dean of the Tucker Foundation, I sought (and received) assurances that this would be a true search, not another anointing of an inside candidate. I quickly learned that the William Jewett Tucker Foundation, founded in 1951 and named for the last preacher-president of Dartmouth, was “charged with supporting and furthering the moral and spiritual work of the College.” Indeed, the Tucker Foundation occupies a unique niche; its very existence attests to the belief that a liberal arts education has a moral purpose beyond the mere aggregation of knowledge.

More (much more) here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/diversity-limits-dartmouth

Christians Claim Workplace Discrimination in Landmark Case

From The New York Times-

One of Europe’s highest courts is considering a landmark decision on the employment rights of Christians, including two British women who were disciplined for wearing crucifix necklaces at work.

They were among four Christians who this week took their cases to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg claiming workplace discrimination that a former Archbishop of Canterbury says has turned them into victims of a new secular orthodoxy.

The four, all Britons who claim national laws failed to protect them, argue that their employers contravened European human rights legislation that bans religious discrimination and allows “freedom of thought, conscience and religion.”

A lawyer for the British government argued at a hearing in Strasbourg on Tuesday that these rights were only protected in the private sphere and not in the workplace.

The cases include those of Nadia Eweida, a British Airways employee who was sent home in 2006 after refusing to remove or conceal a cross that she was wearing on a chain around her neck, and Shirley Chaplin, a nurse who was taken off ward duties after her hospital decided that her crucifix necklace posed a health and safety threat to patients.

More here-

http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/05/christians-claim-workplace-discrimination-in-landmark-case/

Strasbourg to hear religious-discrimination cases

From The Church Times-

THE European Court of Human Rights, in Strasbourg, will next week hear the cases of four British people who claim that they lost their jobs as a result of discrimination against their Christian beliefs.

Two of the cases concern the right to manifest religious belief, and whether this extends to wearing a cross or crucifix in the workplace. The other two concern the "clash of rights" that occurs when legislation and rules designed to ensure equality for gay men and lesbians is said to conflict with other people's rights to manifest their religious belief that homosexual practice is sinful.

Shirley Chaplin, who worked as a nurse with the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust ( News, 9 April 2010), and Nadia Eweida, who worked at a check-in desk for British Airways at Heathrow Airport ( News, 11 January 2008), both lost their jobs over their refusal to remove a cross worn around the neck. The pair both claim that they had worn their crosses for years, and that their jewellery became apparent only when their respective employers changed the design of their uniforms.

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2012/31-august/news/uk/strasbourg-to-hear-religious-discrimination-cases

Fears vilification change may affect churches

From Australia-

Anglican Bishop Stuart Robinson fears changes to the ACT Discrimination Act could lead to religious disputes ending up in court and increase tension between faiths.

The head of the Canberra and Goulburn Archdiocese has also criticised the ACT government for not consulting religious leaders about the proposed changes, which will make religious vilification in the territory illegal.

But Attorney-General Simon Corbell, who will introduce the legislation next week, says the proposed amendments are ''not controversial'' and have been consistently recommended by the ACT Human Rights Commission.

The proposed change would add the word ''religion'' to the list of serious vilification offences in the Discrimination Act, which already prohibits vilification on the grounds of race, sexuality, gender or HIV/AIDS status.

Read more:

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/fears-vilification-change-may-affect-churches-20120815-2499f.html#ixzz23i2KZu7w

Georgia University Tells Student to Alter Religious Views, Lawsuit Claims

From Georgia via Fox-

A graduate student in Georgia is suing her university after she was told she must undergo a remediation program due to her beliefs on homosexuality and transgendered persons.

The student, Jennifer Keeton, 24, has been pursuing a master's degree in school counseling at Augusta State University since 2009, but school officials have informed her that she'll be dismissed from the program unless she alters her "central religious beliefs on human nature and conduct," according to a civil complaint filed last week.

"[Augusta State University] faculty have promised to expel Miss Keeton from the graduate Counselor Education Program not because of poor academic showing or demonstrated deficiencies in clinical performance, but simply because she has communicated both inside and outside the classroom that she holds to Christian ethical convictions on matters of human sexuality and gender identity," the 43-page lawsuit reads.

Keeton, according to the lawsuit, was informed by school officials in late May that she would be asked to take part in a remediation plan due to faculty concerns regarding her beliefs pertaining to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues.

More here-

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/27/georgia-university-tells-student-lose-religion-lawsuit-claims/

Discrimination against Christians in ... Britain?

From Christianity Today-

British newspapers are reporting "an unprecedented showdown" between the Church of England and the nation's second-highest court over whether U.K. Christians are discriminated against in the workplace for their beliefs regarding homosexuality, among other issues.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, and other bishops have demanded that certain Court of Appeals judges stand down from future religious discrimination cases because their recent rulings demonstrate a lack of understanding of Christian beliefs. The Anglican leaders want such appeals to be judged instead by a panel of judges with expertise on religious issues.

The next hearing will be this Thursday, when Christian relationship counselor Gary McFarlane will appeal his firing for refusing sex therapy to homosexual couples. Last week, Christian nurse Shirley Chaplin lost her appeal to wear a crucifix around her neck in hospital wards.

The Court of Appeals decided last December that under existing equality laws, the rights of homosexuals take precedence over the rights of Christians to express their faith. The ruling came during the failed appeal of Christian registrar Lillian Ladele over her firing for refusing to conduct civil partnership ceremonies.

In a March 28 letter, Lord Carey and five current and former Anglican bishops said that "the religious rights of the Christian community are being treated with disrespect." Current Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams countered soon after, saying that "we need to keep our own fears in perspective" compared to the persecution experienced by Christians in other nations. The BBC examined the issue Easter Sunday in a special report.
Even human rights activists and Muslims see a problem.

It hasn't been all bad news for U.K. Christians lately. Church leaders preserved exemptions for religious groups to discriminate when hiring; new regulations will allow Christian pharmacists to refrain from dispensing medicine against their conscience; and a Catholic adoption agency will be allowed to exclude gay couples from adoptions, though most of its peers were forced to close.

But with discrimination claims up nearly 25 percent and 60 percent of surveyed General Synod members agreeing there is discrimination against Christians, Thursday's ruling could generate some headlines indeed.

http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctliveblog/archives/2010/04/discrimination.html