Christmas celebrations and other public expressions of the Christian faith could be banned under Harriet Harman’s controversial Equality Bill, which is currently going through the parliamentary stages in Westminster.
The warning came from the Catholic bishops who attended the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales on Tuesday, 17 November. They told MPs that the Bill is so complex that interpreting it could lead to bizarre decisions by town halls and other organisations. They also warned that campaign groups could take legal action in an attempt to have the Bill enforced in ways which fit their agenda.
The bishops warn that the Bill will reopen many of the discrimination issues which have left Christians bottom of the pile when it comes to ‘equality and diversity’. Giving evidence to the parliamentary committee examining the Bill, they expressed their concerns about the new legislation. They said:
‘Under existing legislation, we have seen the development of a risk-averse culture with outcomes as ridiculous as reports of a local authority instructing tenants to take down Christmas lights in case they might offend Muslim neighbours, or of authorities removing the word Christmas out of cultural sensitivity to everyone except Christians.
‘If this Bill is serious about equality, everything possible must be done to avoid it having a ‘chilling effect’ on religious expression and practice,’ they added.
The Equality Bill is a major piece of legislation that will replace 9 pieces of equality legislation and about 100 other measures. The Bill, being promoted by Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman, is aiming to strengthen protection for minority groups by placing a new equality duty on public bodies like the police, schools and local councils.
Under the provisions of the Bill, public bodies could also be forced by law to promote homosexual and transsexual ‘rights’. Also, churches and other Christian groups could be forced to employ practising homosexuals, transsexuals and civil partners.
Melanie Phillips, a British columnist and author who covers political and social issues, wrote in her recent article in Spectator:
'The Equality Bill currently going through Parliament is the latest and potentially most oppressive attempt to impose politically acceptable attitudes and drive out any that fall foul of these criteria. Since the attitudes being imposed constitute an ideological agenda to destroy Britain’s foundational ethical principles and replace them by a nihilistic values and lifestyle free-for-all, they represent a direct onslaught on the Judeo-Christian morality underpinning British society.'
She focused on homosexual 'rights' as 'the most neuralgic', as a result of which 'most people have been intimidated into silence'.
(Click here to read the article)
In addition, the Bill could force public bodies to have a duty to press on with equality of religion, which may result in public references to Christianity being replaced with those that are multi-faith.
It is also feared that Christian businesses could find themselves losing out on Government contracts under the provisions of the Bill, as it has the potential to discourage public authorities from entering into commercial contracts with businesses that do not promote practical commitments to ‘equality and diversity’ policies.
Angela Eagle, the openly lesbian Minister of State for Pensions, stated at the end of last year that the Government has placed strong emphasis on the importance of using public purchasing power to ‘broaden equality’s reach’. She said it was ‘essential’ that public procurement does not just achieve value for money but achieves ‘a fairer society and greater equality of opportunity for all’.
(See the Office of Government Commerce report)
Harriet Harman said in September this year that the Government should push on with its Equality Bill, despite fears about its impact on the economy. Speaking to a fringe event at the Labour Party conference in Brighton she warned the ‘old boy network’ would not survive in the economy of the future. She said that equality is ‘not something that can be put on the back burner when economic times are difficult’.
(See the Independent report)
In May this year, Conservative MP Philip Davies slammed the Bill, saying it had ‘nothing to do with equality’, and called it an ‘incredibly misleadingly titled Bill. He said:
‘It is a most incredibly misleadingly titled Bill, as one of its central planks is not to enshrine equality in law, but to reintroduce discrimination in the workplace. The Government claim in the explanatory notes that the Bill will cost the private sector a one-off sum of £211 million — just what it needs in a recession — and recurring costs of between £11 million and £17 million a year, consisting mainly of additional court and tribunal cases and compensation awards.’
(See the CCFON report)
A Government Equalities Office spokesman denied that the Bill would impact on Christmas. He said:
‘That's ridiculous; of course local councils can still put up Christmas tree lights or mark any other religious ceremony such as Diwali, Eid or Ramadan.’
Andrea Williams, Director of CCFON, said: 'The exclusive claims of the Christian Message, that God has revealed Himself only in the person of his Son Jesus Christ, means that in an age of treating all religions equally, the truth of Christianity becomes the loser. A truly tolerant society will only exist when the truth is given the support of the State. We urge the Government to think again and instead of marginalising the Christian faith by misguided legislation, to promote it once again so that it assumes its proper place at the centre of this nation.'
Media links