Tag Archives: religious freedom

Kirsten Johnson

Championing Freedom of Belief

By Kirsten Johnson | Thu 27th December 2018 - 4:25 pm

Jeremy Hunt has ordered a review into the persecution of Christians worldwide. We are fortunate in this country to be able to practice our faiths, or have no faith, whichever the case might be. But in many countries of the world this is not the case. 

Our 2017 General Election manifesto called for the UK to lead on establishing the right to religious freedom around the world:

Appoint an ambassador-level champion for freedom of belief to drive British diplomatic efforts in this field, and campaign for the abolition of

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Posted in News and Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 22 Comments
Chris Park

Ashers Bakery Verdict is Dodgy and Dangerous

By Chris Park | Thu 11th October 2018 - 9:30 am

The verdict of the Supreme Court in favour of Ashers bakery’s refusal to make a cake supporting same-sex marriage is dodgy and dangerous.

It is undoubtedly a complicated case. It makes sense, on the surface, because we all have freedom of speech and freedom of thought; yet it also makes sense that if you are running a business that is serving the public then you have to serve all the public, taking them as they are, whether you agree with their opinions or not.

The judgment was reached because the Supreme Court decided that it was the message, not the person that the Christian proprietors objected to. But how was this fact proved?

I don’t think it can be proved because prejudice is often hidden.

It seems to me that the judges have simply taken at face value what the owners of the bakery have said. How can it be proved that they weren’t using their beliefs as a pretext to conceal a hatred they have for gay people?

This question is important because it is at the core of homophobia and hatred against the LGBT+ community: this prejudice is legitimised and normalised because it is spun as an opinion, it’s just someone’s point of view – especially when it’s religious beliefs that are being weaponised.

It’s a slippery slope indeed.

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Posted in News | Also tagged and | 54 Comments
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Recent Comments

  • John Grout
    This is a good start, but the sooner Ed corrects his statement about the Supreme Court judgement himself, the better. Hopefully he'll take the opportunity to do...
  • Peter Martin
    @ Mark, The rail network was only in private hands for the privatisation of British Rail in 1994 up until 2001. The Hatfield crash, which was blamed squarely...
  • Jennie
    Thank you, CJ. And thanks for the EDM too (and to every other MP who has signed it)...
  • Jenny Barnes
    David Evans “In workplaces and services that are open to the public: – trans women (biological men) should not be permitted to use the women’s facilities...
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