UK Christians Oppose New Sexual Orientation Regulations

|TOP|A coalition of religious groups has began a campaign against new proposed sexual orientation regulations, accusing the British government of seeking to undermine belief in God.

The new ordinances would protect homosexuals and lesbians from being discriminated against when in the market for "goods and services".

While proposals have been welcomed by groups such as the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, prominent figures in the Church of England have spoken out against them.

In addition, religious organisations claim the regulations would have the effect of forcing them to act against their beliefs.

A spokeswoman for the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship has said schools run by the Church of England could, for example, be accused of being "biased" in favour of heterosexual relationships in sexual education classes.

|QUOTE|Christians who run bed-and-breakfast accommodations would be forced to rent rooms to same-sex couples, while religious newspapers would be unable to turn down advertisements from homosexual pressure groups.

Michael Nazir Ali, Bishop of Rochester, said in a statement the regulations would hinder much of the Church's charitable work.

"In the proposed regulations there is no clear exemption for religious belief even though it is widely known that several of the faiths in this country will have serious difficulty with the regulations," he said. "Religion affects every area of life and cannot be reduced to just worship."

|AD|In 2003, the British government made it illegal to discriminate against homosexual and lesbian citizens in employment. However, religious groups were exempted.

Many Christians are hoping the new regulations, set to go into effect this October, will also exempt religious suppliers of goods and services, although currently the proposals contain no such exemptions.

Aileen McColgan, a law professor specialising in employment law at the University of London, said Wednesday there was a good chance the government would exempt faith groups again.

"There's no question on the ability of organisations to discriminate in some cases," she said. "I suspect it'll turn on whether religion is central to the service being provided."

Despite this, she expected there to remain some restrictions on religious service-providers, "which will bite on religious organisations."