Lords' vote safeguarding religious freedom to stand

Labour minister Harriet Harman has indicated that she will not try to overturn the House of Lords votes on the Equality Bill, which preserved religious groups’ employment freedoms.

Peers voted on January 25 to keep the current law unchanged, but it was thought the Government might try to overturn the Lords’ decision in the Commons.  However, Miss Harman has now said that the Government will not do so.

The statement comes just days after the Pope criticised the Equality Bill as being in violation of natural law.  On Tuesday, Pope Benedict told the Bishops of England and Wales that the effect of some equality legislation had been "to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs.”

“In some respects it actually violates the natural law on which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed.”

The Equalities Minister insisted that the contentious part of the Bill was supposed to be “helpful” for religious organisations.  According to The Times newspaper Miss Harman accused many religious organisations of breaking employment discrimination law.  However, this is not the case.

Under the current law, churches and religious groups can protect their ethos by restricting posts to Christians whose private conduct is consistent with the Bible’s teaching on sexual ethics.

The Equality Bill dramatically narrowed this freedom until the Lords backed amendments from Baroness O’Cathain, which restored the wording of the current law.  These amendments were supported by Church of England and Roman Catholic leaders who expressed deep concerns about the impact of the change proposed in the Bill.

Meanwhile, the Pope also called upon the English and Welsh bishops to stand firm on moral issues generally and urged them to take part in national debates.  He said, “In doing so, you are not only maintaining long-standing British traditions of freedom of expression and honest exchange of opinion, but you are actually giving voice to the convictions of many people who lack the means to express them.”

by Tom O'Gorman