Last month, the Equality and Human Rights Commission warned that British courts had failed to safeguard the rights of Christians who wanted to wear the cross at work, and urged judges to be more sensitive to religious discrimination, reports Tim Ross, Religious Affairs Editor of the British daily newspaper the Telegraph.
The watchdog had said it would call on the European Court of Human Rights to support the idea that employers should make “reasonable adjustments” to accommodate the religious beliefs of their staff. However, that’s been dropped, reports Ross:
A document posted on the commission’s website disclosed that the watchdog, which is chaired by Trevor Phillips, had abandoned the plan.
Traditionalist Christians claimed that the commission had dropped its support for religious freedom in the face of criticism from secular campaigners and gay rights groups.
The controversy erupted after the watchdog was granted permission to intervene in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, in the cases of Nadia Eweida, Shirley Chaplin, Lillian Ladele, and Gary McFarlane.
All four are Christians who are bringing legal action against the United Kingdom because they believe that British laws have failed to protect their human rights, specifically the right to freedom of religion.
Eweida, a check-in clerk, was barred from wearing a small crucifix at work while Chaplin, a nurse, was banned from working on wards after she failed to hide her cross.
Ladele was a registrar who lost her job at Islington town hall, in north London, after saying her beliefs meant she could not officiate at civil partnership ceremonies.
McFarlane was sacked for refusing to give sex therapy counselling to gay couples.
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