Religious Discrimination

[eduardo]

Just thought I would post this as some may find it interesting.

Maybe we can start a debate.

I am not the sort of person that comments on others sexuality I mean that is up to them but the point of the story is if you make a comment

based on your religion that others may find objectionable and they complain about you and you get in trouble then you might have a case

under employment law for discrimination based on religious beliefs.

Don't know what you all think about this. I mean I have never heard of a Sikh going around work telling other people what they should and shouldn't do

based on your religion but you never know, if you get in trouble for saying something at work this case might help you out:

"A Christian nursery worker who was sacked for telling a lesbian colleague that "homosexuality is a sin" has won a discrimination claim against her employer.

Sarah Mbuyi was dismissed from the Newpark Childcare nursery in Shepherd's Bush, west London, for gross misconduct in 2013 after telling a gay colleague: "God is not OK with what you do.

An employment tribunal ruled at the end of last week that Ms Mbuyi was discriminated against on the grounds of her religious beliefs.

In her first interview since she won her case, Sarah Mbuyi told the Victoria Derbyshire programme what happened."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33049358

And just to be perfectly crystal clear, before any of you start kicking off, I am not pushing Christianity OK.

[Balkaar]

Christians ought to be careful when selecting their ethics from the Old Testament, considering it also supports slavery, genocide and rape, among other things. All three were supposedly enjoined upon the Israelites as religious duties by Yahweh himself when they were conducting their bloody ethnic cleansing of the Holy Land.

The absence of such awfulness in the sacred text is one of the things that drew me to Sikhi in the first place, when I was attempting to suss out what I believed in. Even a liberal Christian will always have those gnawing doubts in the back of his or her mind about the horrors lurking in their Bible, and how to reconcile these with everything they know of human goodness. I've never felt conflicted in the same way. I'm not sure any Sikh has.

Being homosexual isn't a sin, because a sin is the outcome of a decision. Decisions, in turn, require choices. Homosexuality is not a choice. For God's sake, who on earth would willingly choose to be a homosexual in a Muslim country, for instance? There are much more efficient ways to commit suicide. Why would someone elect to become a social pariah by coming out as homosexual, and be shunned and repudiated by many of their former friends and loved ones? It makes no sense to me that someone could even think otherwise.

[eduardo]

Well that wasn't the point I was making, the point is you may have defence of your opinions under religious beliefs.

This case seems more a case of entrapment, I mean if someone asks your opinion on homosexuality and you say it is wrong and they complain

then you may have a defence under religious beliefs.

I mean what is Sikhi's stance on homsexuality and lesbianism?

[Balkaar]

I mean what is Sikhi's stance on homsexuality and lesbianism?

It's not mentioned within the scripture because like gender, ethnicity and caste, it isn't relevant to one's spiritual progression. Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji isn't concerned with edicts or declarations about how to behave. All that may be discerned from documents known as Rehitnamas, which are also silent on the topic of homosexuality.

Its better that way. It leaves the space for a moral argument where Sikhs can discuss the issue and reach a conclusion for themselves. After the Sacred Granth the second highest authority in the Sikh world is invested in the Panth, the community of believers. In the absence of Guru Maharaj's commentary it is up to us to take a decision.

As for your original question, just because something offends somebody's religious sensibilities doesn't mean it is wrong. A ban on Halal and Kosher meat would offend Jews and Muslims to the core but it would still be the right thing to do. Some religious tenets are simply wrong. The Biblical stance against homosexuals is, in my opinion, one such tenet.

[eduardo]

The Biblical stance against homosexuals is, in my opinion, one such tenet.

That may be and I respect that but the fact a person holds an opinion based on religious beliefs should not be used as an excuse for termination of employment.

[Balkaar]

That may be and I respect that but the fact a person holds an opinion based on religious beliefs should not be used as an excuse for termination of employment.

Of course not, its outrageous. Damn the employers for being so hobbled and retarded by their political correctness.

And damn Sarah Mbuyi for being a hypocrite and a homophobe.

[Guest Jacfsing2]

That may be and I respect that but the fact a person holds an opinion based on religious beliefs should not be used as an excuse for termination of employment.

Where I'm from, you could discriminate someone because of your religion, like a Christian doesn't have to bake a cake for a gay person and the courts would support the Christian. (http://www.salon.com/2015/06/09/the_rights_slimy_new_scheme_the_made_up_religious_freedom_protection_designed_to_gut_same_sex_marriage/) I don't know what the problem actually is in Britain, but it's seem differently where I'm from.