Here is a good article that illustrates the importance of balancing equality legislation with the freedom of private organizations:
The Pope has urged Catholic bishops in England and Wales to fight the UK’s Equality Bill with “missionary zeal”.
Pope Benedict XVI said the legislation “violates natural law” and could end the right of the Catholic Church to ban gay people from senior positions.
The Pope has confirmed he will come to the UK this year, the first papal visit since John Paul II in 1982.
The government said the bill, which is currently going through Parliament, would make the UK a fairer place.
And gay rights campaigners have condemned the Pope’s comments.
‘Unjust limitations’
The Pope told the Catholic bishops of England and Wales gathered in Rome: “Your country is well-known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society.
“Yet, as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs.
“In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed.”
In a very real sense this is poorly thought out legislation if it does not take into consideration the public and private spheres, and the difference between an organization that is fundamentally ideological and another one that is only in existence to make money.
Government ought to be careful to not infringe on the rights of the ideological and also protect the rights of individuals to get jobs without facing harassment, degradation and discrimination.