Victory for common sense

The recent decision not to allow any religious opt-out in the Sexual Orientation regulations which form part of the Equality Act 2006 was a victory for common sense. The Catholic church had been hoping that the regulations would allow an opt-out for Catholic adoption agencies which would have permitted discrimination against gay couples.

The Church leaders were totally wrong to seek the blanket exemption. However, if a social worker really believes that a couple is unsuitable as adoptive parents for any reason, it is entirely inappropriate for the social worker to place a child in the care of that couple.

But what would happen if a Catholic social worker believed that a child would be better off being adopted by the gay couple, than the alternative of remaining in a care home? Had the religious exemption been granted, the social worker would have been forced against his or her conscience/better judgement to act against the interests of the child.

A similar dilemma exists in some African countries. Despite the spread of AIDS and the high risk of babies being born HIV+, the Pope refuses to consider birth control, a decision which causes unnecessary hardship in a region which already has more than its fair share of suffering. Any Catholic priests working there, who believe in good faith the Vatican is wrong, are not allowed to act according to their consciences.

A person can have a conscience but an institution cannot.

Religion is nothing more than a belief. Granting an exemption for a religion because it doesn't approve of gay people would be no different to allowing racists a special exemption to discriminate against people they held to be inferior. The purpose of the Equality Act is to ensure that all people are treated equally and without discrimination. Politicians have rightly decided that no institution should be exempt from the law.