In a letter to the Sunday Telegraph newspaper on March 28 they highlighted the ongoing case of Shirley Chaplin, a nurse in a National Health Service hospital who was removed from patient care duties after refusing to remove the cross she has worn around her neck for 38 years.
On Easter Sunday (April 4) the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, was, however critical of what he called “overheated language” used to describe Christian suffering in Britain by groups seeking to protect what they see as their country’s religious heritage.
Speaking at Canterbury Cathedral, Williams said that “wooden-headed bureaucratic silliness” combined with a “well-meaning and completely misplaced anxiety about giving offence to non-Christians” should not be mistaken for persecution.
At the same time Williams also questioned why some atheists, humanists, and secularists show contempt and fear towards Christianity while disparaging it as a declining faith, the Guardian newspaper reported on April 5.
Williams said, “If you think of all the high-profile attacks on Christianity that have been published in recent years, you may wonder why those who shout most loudly about the irreversible decline of Christianity campaign so ferociously against something which, on their own account, is withering away.”
In the case of nursing sister Chaplin, she took her case to an employment tribunal, which is currently hearing it.
The six bishops called for Britain’s political parties, who are preparing for a general election expected in May, to address the issue. They pointed out that the policy of the NHS hospital in western England, where Chaplin worked, permits exemption for religious clothing in regard to other faiths, but not the wearing of a cross around the neck.
“This is yet another case in which the religious rights of the Christian community are being treated with disrespect. We are deeply concerned at the apparent discrimination shown against Christians and we call upon the government to remedy this serious development,” they stated.
“There have been numerous dismissals of practicing Christians from employment for reasons that are unacceptable in a civilized country,” said the clerics. “We believe that the major political parties need to address this issue in the coming general election.”
Shami Chakrabarti, director of the human rights organization group, Liberty, said: “Whether personal faith motivates the wearing of a cross, turban, head scarf, or Star of David, it is fundamentally illiberal to require people to check such an important part of themselves at the workplace door for no justifiable reason.”
Lynn Lane, personnel director of the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust, said Chaplin had been offered a number of different options. For the Trust it was a matter of uniform policy and the safety of staff and patients, she added.
A spokesperson for the local government and communities’ ministry said it is committed to valuing the contribution Christians make within British society and that this pledge is evident in its engagement with churches at national and local levels.
Chaplin, who is alleging discrimination by the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust, told the opening hearing of an industrial tribunal on March 29 that she believes there has been an attempt to stop her from expressing her religious belief. The trust argued that its actions had nothing to do with wearing a crucifix specifically, but hinged on concerns of the possibility of a confused patient in her care grabbing it. The problem was not with the cross, but the necklace to which it was attached, the trust maintained.
“I have been a nurse for 30 years and throughout that time I have worn my crucifix,” said Chaplin. “The crucifix is an exceptionally important expression of my faith and my belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. To deliberately remove or hide or treat it disrespectfully would violate my faith,” said Chaplin.
