Illustrating just how far the European Union has departed from its original ethos of a "trading agreement", we learn from Christian Today that the EU has instructed the UK to end exemptions to equality laws that allow religious employers to discriminate on the grounds of sexual orientation.This came via a "reasoned opinion" sent to the UK on Friday for "incorrectly implementing" EU rules prohibiting discrimination based on religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in employment or occupation.
The reasoned opinion states that the Government's "exceptions to the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation for religious employers are broader than that permitted by the directive."
Our provincial government has come unstuck because it allows exemptions for employers who could not conscionably employ homosexuals because of their religious convictions. The intervention means that anti-discrimination laws will have to be redrafted to ensure that churches and other religious bodies fall in line with all aspects of equality laws.
This means that churches and church groups which regard homosexuality as a sin will be obliged by law to consider homosexuals when or if they apply for jobs, and to face action if there is any discrimination shown in determining their applications.
No doubt the eventual requirement that such groups should be required to employ homosexuals by an alien government in Brussels was precisely what Mr Heath meant all those years ago when he assured the nation that there would be no "essential loss of sovereignty" when we joined the EEC.
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