The Angry Fag

News and Views from a Man Who Likes Men

Baby It’s All Or Nothing Now

Posted on | December 30, 2005

I was very pleased to read on 365Gay that the Seventh Circuit US Court of Appeals in Chicago found in favor of General Motors in the company’s dispute with a Christian employee. The issue centered on Affinity Groups that exist in GM’s diversity program.

The guidelines allow for the creation of groups based on race, gender, sexuality and so forth but does not allow for Christian Affinity Groups because the guidelines explicitly do not allow for the creation of religious groups.Naturally some Christian got offended when his application for creating a Christian Affinity Group was denied and sued GM because he was being “discriminated against”. The appeals court judges ruled in favor of GM because it treats all religions the same. There are no Affinity Groups for Jewish, Pagan, Shintoist or Atheist employees either.

Cases like these just go to show that people still lack the understanding of what religious equality really is. Religious equality is not a guarantee that you will be able do anything you want in the name of religion and get away with it. This is the current angle used by a lot of people in fighting gay rights because they claim that by not being allowed to discriminate against gays they are being discriminated against for their religious beliefs. However, like the title of this post alludes to, religious equality is an “all or nothing” issue. Either all religions must be embraced or none of them. In other words, that means all religions must be treated the same.

GM won because their policy made it clear that the employee’s application to create the group would have been denied regardless of his religious beliefs. But of course some activist lawyer will probably try to take the case before the Supreme Court whom I hope declines to hear the matter. But I guess it is just another chapter in the Christian Jihad against the United States.

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Comments

2 Responses to “Baby It’s All Or Nothing Now”

  1. Sally
    December 30th, 2005 @ 4:34 pm

    Yes, a religious equality is an all or nothing, in other words, all religions or no religions. To define it as Christian persecution as it has been amuses me! Having three hundred plus years of unchallenged Christian bias does not mean that it’s alright or that it is alright if it continues.

  2. zandperl
    December 30th, 2005 @ 11:12 pm

    Wouldn’t having the Supreme Court take up the issue decide it more definitively than if they refuse to do so?

    The one thing I’m torn on regarding equality of religion, is the display of religion issue. For example, I don’t think public or government property should display the Ten Commandents, a cross, or a menorah, but I think I accept Christmas Trees and Santa Claus, as they are more secular. I also accept it as ok if people have religious displays on their personal property - it is in poor taste and rude in my opinion, but I don’t think we should stop it any more than we should outlaw bad hairstyles. I also think France is going a little too far in disallowing head scarves and other displays of religion (such as yarmulkes or cross necklaces) in schools.

    That said, I do hold the radical belief that religious marriage should be entirely disassociated from civil marriages.

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