Looking at the case of Lillian Ladele, sometime registrar for Islington Council in London who lost her job when she refused to take a civil partnership. Now, as I understand it, this woman did her job well but, because of her beliefs, didn't feel that she could in all good conscience conduct a civil partnership and someone decided to make a complaint about it.
First and foremost we have to ask whether or not anyone who wanted a civil partnership was inconvenienced or refused because of this woman's beliefs. The answer to this is a resounding 'No' for what occurred was that when there was a civil partnership to be conducted the woman merely exchanged that task for another.
The second question is that of asking 'Why'?
Why did someone make a complaint that lead to the eventual dismissal of Ms Ladele?
Well I can't imagine it was someone with a relationship with the woman who was aggrieved that she wouldn't take their service. It surely can't have been someone who had their heart set of having their civil partnership service conducted by a black woman (can it?) or wanted a Christian lay person to do the job!
No M'lud, what I have to say is that the complaint was actually little more that a spiteful and rather malicious act. The intention was to hit out at Ms Ladele and act against her and whilst it might look like it worked, actually she emerges from this as a 'hero of the faith' rather than bigot, homophobe or any of the other comments some (who actually own the rights to those very titles for themselves) have used!
The grown up response was that as long as there was no refusal of service then surely the right to believe and act according to them harmed no one and as long as that situation continued, there was no problem.
I cannot for the life of me believe that someone wishing to take part in any event would wish to have it done by someone who didn't want to do it. The ideal is someone who is keen to provide whatever service is required and if not keen, then at least ambivalent or neutral - I wouldn't want someone who did the thing without being fully engaged (mind you - having dealt with registrars in some places they were rarely engaged or even (apparently) interested in what was going on - it just seemed to be (what it might well be for many) - a job!
So did human rights win here?
No, I don't think so. What we had was someone using the system to exact some sort of revenge rather than stand for anyone's rights and so I think that commonsense, the right to live and act as one's beliefs demand and the law itself all lost out here.
When one person acts and another disagrees then surely each has a right to live as they might and as long as neither demands nor imposes upon the other on the grounds of primacy of rights we find a coexistence and place where respect, however uneasy, is to be found.
This is what society, rights, life choices and faith are all about - we may not agree but that doesn't mean that we have to engage in conflict.
Well, not unless one of us has a different (and wrong) agenda (and that's exactly what I think we have here)
Some might actually call it Christophobic :-)
Pax
Showing posts with label discrimination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label discrimination. Show all posts
Thursday, 17 January 2013
Friday, 11 March 2011
Should Christians be treated differently?
BBC Radio Four started a stimulating discussion regarding whether Christians should be treated differently. As Christians are being marginalised and even 'acted against' it would perhaps be sensible to engage in some form of positive discrimination.
So should Christians be treated differently?
Simply, the answer has to be a resounding 'No' for a number of reasons:
+ Christians shouldn't be treated prejudicially (positively or negatively) but should be treated exactly the same way as everyone else. In fact the real issue is that, within a secular setting, all are (and should be) recipients of the same rights and privileges and are also bound by the same responsibilities. To argue that any group is a special case is to argue that it is acceptable for others to be less than equal. This contravenes the Christian message and destroys democracy rather than enhance it!
+ It is hypocrisy on the part of any group who cry out to be afforded special treatment for that same group to then discriminate, or act against others, because of this special consideration. Read some of the Christian websites and blogs and you will find people screaming at the treatment of Christians at the hands of certain minority groups. The reality is that these groups have been afforded special rights and protection societally and in law, and use this position to erode the land upon which those who oppose their lifestyles, attitudes or philosophies, stand. To claim 'equal rights' means that all have equal rights. What many of these groups seek, and are given, is in fact 'unequal rights!'
+ To quote that great source of philosophical consideration, 'The Incredibles', "When everyone is super, no one will be super!" If all are granted equal status in our society, then what makes any group special, worthy or valid is not the rights they enjoy but the responsibilities that they exhibit.
Those people who want Christianity and Christians to have a special place in the life and working of our society have to get out of their pathetically closed little groups and get out there and 'be the difference'. The many people I meet who hide behind their church doors and complain that no one comes in need to get of their bottoms and get out into the community their church is meant to serve and started serving it! Those who cry that they are under siege from the naughty people, the atheists, the liberals, humanists and any other group who might be the bogyman for you, need to get out more and take the Gospel with them.
We will be treated differently as Christians because we are called to be counter-cultural. That is that we continue upholding truth, good and God even though the asylum that is our society picks up more and more excesses and thinks up even more ways to damage itself morally, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
We should be treated differently from the rest of the world, because we are different but this doesn't mean that we should be afforded any less rights or have a diminished voice or be acted against because of it. Whatever next, they'll be wanting to crucify us!
So should Christians be treated differently?
Simply, the answer has to be a resounding 'No' for a number of reasons:
+ Christians shouldn't be treated prejudicially (positively or negatively) but should be treated exactly the same way as everyone else. In fact the real issue is that, within a secular setting, all are (and should be) recipients of the same rights and privileges and are also bound by the same responsibilities. To argue that any group is a special case is to argue that it is acceptable for others to be less than equal. This contravenes the Christian message and destroys democracy rather than enhance it!
+ It is hypocrisy on the part of any group who cry out to be afforded special treatment for that same group to then discriminate, or act against others, because of this special consideration. Read some of the Christian websites and blogs and you will find people screaming at the treatment of Christians at the hands of certain minority groups. The reality is that these groups have been afforded special rights and protection societally and in law, and use this position to erode the land upon which those who oppose their lifestyles, attitudes or philosophies, stand. To claim 'equal rights' means that all have equal rights. What many of these groups seek, and are given, is in fact 'unequal rights!'
+ To quote that great source of philosophical consideration, 'The Incredibles', "When everyone is super, no one will be super!" If all are granted equal status in our society, then what makes any group special, worthy or valid is not the rights they enjoy but the responsibilities that they exhibit.
Those people who want Christianity and Christians to have a special place in the life and working of our society have to get out of their pathetically closed little groups and get out there and 'be the difference'. The many people I meet who hide behind their church doors and complain that no one comes in need to get of their bottoms and get out into the community their church is meant to serve and started serving it! Those who cry that they are under siege from the naughty people, the atheists, the liberals, humanists and any other group who might be the bogyman for you, need to get out more and take the Gospel with them.
We will be treated differently as Christians because we are called to be counter-cultural. That is that we continue upholding truth, good and God even though the asylum that is our society picks up more and more excesses and thinks up even more ways to damage itself morally, spiritually, emotionally and physically.
We should be treated differently from the rest of the world, because we are different but this doesn't mean that we should be afforded any less rights or have a diminished voice or be acted against because of it. Whatever next, they'll be wanting to crucify us!
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