The law and the church (1 Viewer)

[Naughty Nurse]

In the UK churches are permitted to ignore certain laws. For example, it is illegal here for employers to discriminate on the grounds of gender or sexual orientation - unless the employer is a church.

Is there a logical reason why churches should be exempt from the law?

 

[Real Korimyr #9]

Because, traditionally, the Church has always stood separate from the rest of society. It was a balance-of-power issue in the days of feudalism and there are still vestiges of the old privilege.

Think of it as a form of "diplomatic immunity".

Personally, I do not object to exempting them from discrimination laws, because that would constitute undue influence over religious teachings-- but I think that the State should fall like a pack of starving hyenas on any clergyman that uses his protected status to conceal other criminal activities.