Ceci n'est pas un blog
All religious beliefs are equal ...
... but some beliefs are more equal than others.
At least it seems that way when "equality" legislation is applied to justify the withdrawal of funding from a Brighton care home because its Christian ethos might deter gay people from applying.
Update 9 Feb 2009: Funding restored to Christian care home.
| Print article | This entry was posted by Anthony on 29 Dec 2008 at 1.33 pm, and is filed under Comment. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site. |
I live in York and I'm a research fellow in 
Loading ...
about 3 years ago
Belief and expression of belief are not the same thing. Freedom of expression is a limited human right, limited precisely inasmuch as it does not impinge on the rights of others to live a life free from discrimination, harassment, etc. A belief (doctrinal or otherwise) that homosexuality is wrong is a private matter; expression of that belief, in personal or professional life, may well test the legal boundaries of freedom of expression.
Services commissioned by local authorities are bound by standards around equality and inclusion. The care home you refer to has every right to provide its services on the basis that it does not include the gay community, but applying for public funding on that basis is inappropriate.
about 3 years ago
Hi White,
Sorry, your post was delayed unintentionally.
I don't think the Pilgrim Home excludes the gay community, except insofar as having a Protestant Christian ethos might discourage gay people from wanting to live there. But I don't have a problem with that - I'm sure the council is in favour of diversity and will financially support care homes with a wide range of ethoses.
But this seems to be the real issue: do you think that local authorities should impose religious discrimination in order to promote "equality" and "inclusion"?