Another Christian “job martyr” trying to get religious privileges at work

The latest bid to write religious privilege into law has been playing out in an Employment Tribunal in Bristol this week. A Christian man who had a job as a counsellor for Relate (previously the Marriage Guidance Council) claims he was unfairly dismissed because he refused to deal with gay couples who came for counselling and therapy.

Gary McFarlane, 47, had given advice to straight couples but felt his religious beliefs prevented him from offering advice on sexual intimacy with same sex partners. Relate said he was breaching its equal opportunities policy and sacked him. Mr MacFarlane claimed the incident amounted to religious discrimination.

He had been a counsellor with Relate for three years when he undertook a diploma in psychosexual therapy, which involved dealing with intimate problems. But then he claimed that offering therapy to gay couples would go against his religious beliefs.

Keith Knight, counsel for Relate, accepted that the charity was wrong to have dismissed Mr McFarlane on the grounds of “gross misconduct”. Instead, it should simply have given him notice to leave after deciding they had lost trust and confidence in his ability. Mr McFarlane, a 47-year-old father of two who lives in Bristol, is a former clinical negligence lawyer and church elder and now works as a law mediator in London.

After he trained as a psychosexual therapist, he assumed his supervisors would take into account his strong Christian beliefs and that he would not be asked to work with a gay couple, it was said. But some colleagues had difficulties with his stance and a letter was being circulated which claimed he was homophobic and there was pressure to dismiss him on these grounds.

Mr McFarlane’s lawyer Paul Diamond — a familiar face at these Christian job martyr cases — said: “There was a campaign raised against Mr McFarlane in Relate Avon calling for his dismissal. This campaign was organised against Mr McFarlane because of his religious beliefs.”

Michael Bennett, Avon Relate manager claims the pair held two “constructive meetings” to see if they could resolve the situation. He said: “I asked would he comply with our equal opportunities policy and he said that in PST that would put him under greater stress. I offered support to see if there was a practical way around it. Mr McFarlane said there was no practical way around it and during the meeting he said he did not feel he could work with same sex couples on sexual issues and that would continue to be the case.”

But Mr Diamond claimed Mr McFarlane’s views were “evolving” and that all he really wanted was for his supervisor to offer guidance and support. However, Mr Bennett denied this and told the tribunal: “His views were quite fixed in both meetings. At the end of the October 2007 I told him to go away and have a think about his stance because it was a very important decision. He had weeks to think this through and at the end of the November meeting he was absolutely clear that without a shadow of doubt he would not work with same sex couples on sexual issues on religious grounds.”

Mr McFarlane was suspended from his job in January 2008. He was summoned to a disciplinary hearing the following month and sacked on March 18. His appeal was dismissed. He said he felt his Christian beliefs meant he was unable to give cognitive sexual technique counselling to homosexuals but was happy to work with same sex couples on relationship issues in therapy. After a two-day hearing the tribunal panel today reserved their judgment on further claims of unfair dismissal, harassment and discrimination on the grounds of religion. They will publish their ruling at a later date.

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said: “It would be a disaster for equality if Mr McFarlane wins this case. It would set a precedent that elevates the whims and prejudices of religious people above the rights to equal treatment for homosexuals. We note that the case is being sponsored by the Christian Legal Centre which has brought several of these ‘Christian job martyr’ cases, including that of Lilian Ladele the registrar in Islington who refused to perform civil partnerships for gay couples.”

Mr Sanderson said: “This case is part of a determined push by Christian activists to gain special privileges at work. Those privileges come at the expense of the fundamental rights of homosexuals to receive equal treatment.”

05 December 2008