The Christian Institute (CI) has warned that attempts to unify decades of equality legislation in Northern Ireland may have unforeseen consequences for religious liberty in the province.
The government of Northern Ireland is currently considering consolidating various pieces of equality legislation, in a way that mirrors the Equality Act 2010, which was passed by the Westminster Parliament.
CI wrote to Northern Ireland’s Committee for the Executive Office in December, warning that errors made in the passing of the Equality Act made it difficult for British churches to understand what rights and freedoms they possessed.
Last week CI’s Northern Ireland Policy Officer, James Kennedy, spoke to the committee and warned that the task of unifying existing legislation would not be easy and could have unforeseen consequences.
Kennedy said that Northern Ireland has a “rich heritage” of religious freedom that legislators should “treasure and guard”.
One area of particular concern is the idea of extending third party harassment provisions in the field of employment. Kennedy warned that this could lead to “a legal interest in businesses to police what members of the public say”.
Kennedy also warned that the Equality Commission’s proposal that volunteers gain discrimination protections would be “unnecessary and unworkable” for churches and faith groups.
To demonstrate the risks of unforeseen consequences stemming from a change in equality legislation, CI's in-house solicitor, Sam Webster, pointed to the Ashers Baking Company case.
The case began when the Christian bakery was asked to make a cake decorated with a pro-gay marriage slogan. The bakers refused, as to do so would have contradicted their Christian beliefs.
After initially being found to have broken the law, the bakery was eventually exonerated in 2018 when the Supreme Court ruled in their favour. Notably it was the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland itself which took the bakery to court.
Webster told the committee, "I’m sure when the Fair Employment and Treatment Order was passed in 1998, nobody ever envisaged the Ashers Baking Company case ending up at the Supreme Court.
“All we’re saying is, caution needs to be exercised because why should the citizen have to go all the way up to the UK Supreme Court in order to get the law clarified, in order to defend his or her rights to freedom of expression or religious freedom, and spend £300,000 to do that?”
