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radioAndrea Williams comments on the law being in confusion
Gary McFarlane, a relationship counsellor, won a claim for wrongful dismissal against Relate Avon. He was sacked because his Christian beliefs prevented him giving sex therapy to homosexual couples. The Employment Tribunal was in December and Mr. McFarlane was represented by religious liberties specialist, Barrister, Paul Diamond.
Gary McFarlane had worked for Relate since 2003. He was disappointed with the hostility he had experienced from Relate. Although Mr McFarlane had never had to provide sex therapy to a same sex couple, he thought that if the situation did arise, he would be able to discuss his Christian views with his supervisors so that his position could be discussed and if necessary accommodated. Any such discussions were, however, pre-empted by unexpected meetings between Mr McFarlane and his manager in October 2007 when he was asked to state his views regarding same sex couples. Despite explaining that he would counsel couples in compliance with Relate's Equal Opportunities Policy, and that he would raise any issues with his supervisors and manager, as good practice required, Mr McFarlane was suspended in early January 2008 and then dismissed in March 2008. Mr McFarlane was given no other choice than to subject his religious faith to the Equal Opportunities Policy.
However, although he won his wrongful dismissal claim, the Tribunal held that his claim of religious discrimination should fail. The Tribunal recognised powerful arguments on both sides, but held that the provision of non discriminatory services was important.
Andrea Minichiello Williams Director of the Christian Legal Centre said: 'The law is in a confused state; in the case of Lillian Ladele, the Islington Registrar, the Court held that Christian belief must give way to the rights of same sex couples; but in the case of Gary McFarlane there is a finding of wrongful dismissal. The courts and public are confused; we call on the Government to recognise the legitimate expression of conscience by Christians in the area of sexual orientation and provide protection where necessary.'
Mr. McFarlane said that: 'If I were a Muslim, this would not have happened. But Christians seem to have fewer and fewer rights'.
- Muslim prisoners for sex offences may opt out of therapy (Times 9 April 2008)
- Non Muslim father banned from Swimming Pool (Telegraph 18/4/08)
- Magistrate investigated for refusing evidence in veil (BBC 8/1/08)
- Betts Awards 'Three Little Pigs' too offensive (BBC)
Andrea Minichiello Williams continued:- 'It is important to note that Mr. McFarlane has never refused to counsel a same sex couple; he merely raised the potential conflict between his Christian faith and homosexual conduct. It is deeply disturbing that the mere expression of religious belief with an inability to give unqualified support to sexual orientation issues means that a Christian can be dismissed with no attempt to provide suitable accommodation for his or her beliefs. The law preventing religious discrimination against Christians is in danger of becoming a dead letter'.
The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.
Andrea Minichiello Williams is a Barrister and has been working as a Christian lobbyist in the Legal and Public Policy arena in the United Kingdom for 10 years. She is also Director of the Christian Legal Centre Ltd which is partnered with 
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As a non-heterosexual Christian who remains celibate, again, I find double-standards amongst Christians who are 'sticking to their religious beliefs'. Mr McFarlane will have worked with opposite-sex (straight) couples who were not married but were having sex, so again, it seems that Christians are picking and choosing when their religious convictions apply and when they don't. If Mr McFarlane wants to work with solely Christian ideals, he should work for a Christian organisation, not an organisation that deals with all sections of society.
I am also a partially-trained counsellor and I am a fully trained social care worker. fullest. If my clients meet Jesus, great! Brilliant! And I pray for them all regularly. But I do not go to work to impose my faith on others and expect special treatment because of my faith.
Counselling is about seeing the CLIENT's world THROUGH THEIR EYES, not the counsellor's eyes. If my client was vegan and I told them they looked skinny and needed to eat meat, that would be counter-productive because it is against the client's value base. The counsellor needs to be able to work with an individual with the life that that individual has.
So, again, Christians should be careful about waving their rights around in court, because they are usually selective rights, and usually selective against dealing equally with gay people as with straight people, which puts gay people off God. If a Christian wants to work with solely Christian ideals, they should work in a Christian environment. Or they should do they job they are paid to do, which they accepted when they signed their employment contract.