The Grand Chamber of the Council of Europe announced that it has rejected the request for referral from three UK Christians, including Christian Legal Centre clients Shirley Chaplin and Gary McFarlane.
Thank you for all your prayers and generous gifts towards the appeal.
None of this has been in vain. A lot has been achieved along the way.
Positives...
The European Court decided that decisions of the UK Courts were within the 'margin of appreciation' (discretion) that it allows to national Courts - but in so doing it challenged many of the principles adopted by UK Courts and asserted by the British government.
- So for example, the UK Government had made the remarkable assertion that the cross was not a generally recognised Christian symbol. It also suggested that since wearing the cross is not compulsory for Christians, it is not a protected freedom. The European Court ruled that, in principle, wearing the cross is an expression of Christian faith and so is a freedom to be protected!
- Again, the UK Courts had held that beliefs about marriage as between a man and a woman was not a core component of Christian belief and so not protected. The European Court said that these beliefs were part of Gary and Lillian's Christian identity and so were in principle protected!
- The British Government suggested that because the individuals were free to resign and find other jobs, there had been no infringement of their freedom of religion - in other words, 'your freedom to resign secures your freedom of religion'. The European Court ruled that 'freedom to resign and find another job' is not sufficient to guarantee religious freedom.
These are significant breakthroughs and will be a great help in contending for Christian freedoms in the UK Courts in the future.
Click here for a document setting out in more detail the significance of the European Court's judgment in the cases of Shirley Chaplin and Gary McFarlane.
More positives...
- Last month the Council of Europe passed a resolution calling on all member states to respect conscience and accommodate religious beliefs in the public sphere. The situation facing UK Christians, including the cases of Shirley Chaplin and Gary McFarlane, was recorded in the report that was prepared for the debate that took place before the vote. This shows how the cases have influenced Council of Europe opinion and consequent policy.
- This month, a member of the EU Delegation to the International Organisations in Vienna wrote:
"We are concerned about rising anti-Christian intolerance and violence... a trend which often remains unnoticed."
These cases have played a part in highlighting the increasing frequency of low-level discrimination against Christians.
What now?
We will continue to stand up for God's truth and support Christians who face legal challenge for manifesting their faith, just as Gary and Shirley did.
If you or someone you know is facing such a situation, please do get in touch with us.
With the possibility of the Government's Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill passing into law, we need to continue to stand firm for God's truth. We expect more of these kinds of cases and we are ready to keep speaking of Jesus Christ in public life.
Thank you once again for all your prayers and support during progression of Shirley and Gary's cases.