My old local pub had a sign up which said that they would refuse service to anyone who was racist, homophobic, sexist or in some way intolerant to other patrons or peoples. However, it is the law of Britain that a business cannot refuse business based only on religious or racial grounds.
However, if your religion demands that you are vocally racist or homophobic, your crap out of luck. Your religion cannot protect you. If my religion meant that I was obliged to rant and rave about the evils of the black man, I would expect to not get served at my bar, and would probably expect to lose my job.
If true Christianity (as Faith would have has believe) means making the lives of your neighbours and enemies unpleasant (which is a funny a way of loving thy neighbour and loving thy enemy, but there you go), and difficult to live, then true Christians are going to have to learn to live in a society which basis much of its morality on 'freedom until your freedom encroaches the freedoms of others'.
The Co-Op is a bank which advertises itself as being banking with a clear conscience. A bank that doesn't invest in unethical companies or countries, fair trade and all that. It doesn't do things perfectly, but it does what it can.
The Co-Op is not discriminating on religious grounds. They still do business with most people who would consider themselves Christian. They simply refuse to do business with people whose 'religion' is actively intolerant. If an Islamic group was vocally discriminatory against the Jewish population (and applying pressure to charities not to accept money if Jews had raised it), the co-op would refuse to do business with them, likewise a neo-nazi group. Clearly to show religious discrimination it has to be shown this is down to the fact that Christian Voice is Christian, rather than about the views they espouse. If a secular organisation was doing the same and the co-op continued business...then we would have religious discrimination.
"It has come to the bank's attention that Christian Voice is engaged in discriminatory pronouncements based on the grounds of sexual orientation,"
"This public stance is incompatible with the position of the Co-operative Bank, which publicly supports diversity and dignity in all its forms for our staff, customers and other stakeholders."
Christian Voice says it now waits for the bank to bar other Christians and Muslims and Jews who share the same views. This isn't happening because it isn't about religion. It isn't about opinion. It's about what is said and done.
Didn't Christ advocate praying in secret, doing charity in secret, and generally being a Christian without fanfare or trumpet? Why do these people need to shout on the street corners? Surely, they have their reward (Matthew 6).
Interestingly, Christian Voice comes up tops for a google search on
'ignorant bigots'
™ Version 4.2
