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When are churches allowed to discriminate? How churches’ role in public service delivery affects employment equality regulations

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Abstract

Triggered by the Employment Equality Directive 2000/78/EC, member states have reformed their equal treatment laws, including exemptions for religious organisations which allow them to lay off employees who allegedly act contrary the organisations’ ‘ethos’. However, whereas in some countries, churches have managed to defend these exemptions; elsewhere, this possibility has become more restricted. This paper discusses the role of religious organisations in public policy to explain divergent outcomes in three different countries. Referring to assumptions of actor-centred institutionalism, it argues that churches have been most influential in Germany due to their significant status in welfare delivery which has also strengthened their role as political actors. In contrast, in the UK and, particularly, The Netherlands churches have lost their important roles in welfare and recently also in education. Therefore, British churches were only able to prevent restrictions at the very last moment, whereas their Dutch counterparts finally had to accept them.

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Notes

  1. In all three countries compared, the churches do not provide services themselves but have established associations which perform these tasks on their behalf. However, when it comes to the political processes at hand both churches and their welfare and educational organisations have been involved.

  2. The study particularly accounts for Catholic and Protestant organisations because for organised non-Christian communities such as Islamic organisations different contextual factors are relevant. First, in Western countries Islamic organisations have a rather weak institutional and societal status compared to the historically rooted Christian organisations. Second, unlike the Christian churches, they are usually perceived and assessed concerning their role as supporters or obstructers of (Muslim) immigrant integration and less as possible providers of social or educational services.

  3. Since the situation in England is most relevant in this context the elaborations on the church–state regime in the UK does not refer to the—diverging—circumstances in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

  4. Concerning the share of denominations, the Netherlands has historically been characterised as a Protestant nation; however, it has been the Protestant Churches in particular that have lost a significant part of their members. To date, only 10% of the population is affiliated with one of the Protestant Churches, whereas 24% are members of the Catholic Church. A majority of 56% does not belong to any church in the country. In the UK, the Anglican Church is still by far the largest religious organisation, representing approximately 50% of the population, whereas only a minority of 10% are affiliated with the Catholic Church. Around one-third of the population is nondenominational. In Germany, the Protestant Church and the Catholic Church are about the same size, each representing approximately 30% of the population. As in the UK, approximately one-third of the population is not affiliated with any church in Germany (Source: World Value Survey).

  5. Hearing of the parliamentary group of the Green Party, 5/27/2003, https://plone.rewi.hu-berlin.de/de/lf/ls/bae/w/files/lsb_adg_chronologie/adg_broschuere_gruene.pdf, accessed 2/18/2016

  6. EKD, Kirchen und Koalition streiten über Antidiskriminierungsgesetz, https://www.ekd.de/aktuell_presse/news_2002_05_17_2_antidiskriminierung.html, accessed 2/18/2016

  7. Stenographic report of the 808th meeting of the Bundesrat, Berlin, Friday, 2/18/2005. https://www.lsvd.de/bund/antidiskriminierung/808.pdf, accessed 2/18/2016.

  8. Bundestag, Committee for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth, report No 15/51. http://www.bundesgerichtshof.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Bibliothek/Gesetzesmaterialien/16_wp/antidiskrg/wortproto.pdf?__blob=publicationFile, accessed 2/18/2016

  9. Bundestag, printed matter 16/1780, http://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/16/017/1601780.pdf, accessed 2/18/2016

  10. Commission of the European Communities, Formal Notice Contractual Infringement No. 2007/2362, http://www.vkm-baden.de/infothek/agg_kritik_eu.pdf, accessed 11/29/2016.

  11. In 2011, the diocese of Augsburg (Bavaria) laid off an educator in a Catholic kindergarten during her parental leave after she disclosed her homosexual partnership. In 2012, the director of a Catholic kindergarten in Königswinter lost her position after she had divorced her husband and moved in with her new partner. In 2012, an affiliate of the Sikh religious community who worked temporarily as a cleaner in a Protestant kindergarten in Stade (Lower Saxony) was denied a permanent contract because of her faith. In 2013, the EKD rejected an applicant for a post as scientific adviser for not being member of the Protestant Church.

  12. Bundestag, printed matter 17/5523, http://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/055/1705523.pdf, accessed 2/18/2016.

  13. Within a public hearing in the parliamentary Committee ‘Labour and Social Matters’ on the Left Party’s initiative the representative of the Catholic bishops argued that the church welfare organisations were not just ‘providers among many others” but reflected the very purpose of the churches to provide services to the weak and poor; Bundestag, printed matter 17/10872, http://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/108/1710872.pdf; Bundestag printed matter 17/13569, http://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/17/135/1713569.pdf, accessed 2/18/2016.

  14. Interview Peter Weiß (CDU), 10/2/2016

  15. Interview Kerstin Griese (SPD), 03/22/2016

  16. Interview Klaus-Heinrich Dedring (SPD), 03/02/2016

  17. Catholic Bishops‘Conference, Änderung des Kirchlichen Arbeitsrechts, http://www.dbk.de/presse/details/?presseid=2795&, accessed 2/18/2016.

  18. Federal Labour Court, ruling of 09/8/2011, 2 AZR 543/10, http://juris.bundesarbeitsgericht.de/cgi-bin/rechtsprechung/document.py?Gericht=bag&Art=pm&Datum=2015&nr=15714&linked=urt, accessed 2/18/2016

  19. European Court for Human Rights, case S. vs Germany, complaint no 1620/03. http://www.bmj.de/SharedDocs/EGMR/DE/20100923_1620-03.html?nn=1469522, accessed 2/18/2016.

  20. Federal Labour Court, ruling of 9/8/2011, see FN 15

  21. Towards Equality and Diversity and Equality and Diversity: The way ahead

  22. House of Commons, Research Paper 03/54, http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/RP03-54/RP03-54.pdf; accessed 2/18/2016.

  23. House of Commons, Research Paper 03/54; see FN 19

  24. ‘Employment is for the purposes of an organised religion only if the employment wholly or mainly involves— (a) leading or assisting in the observation of liturgical or ritualistic practices of the religion, or (b) promoting or explaining the doctrine of the religion whether to followers of the religion or to others.”

  25. The Christian Institute, Equality Bill. Employment by churches and religious organisations; http://www.christian.org.uk/issues/2009/equalitybill/brief_jan10.pdf, accessed 2/18/2016.

  26. R. (on the application of Amicus) v Secretary of State for Trade and Industry [2004] EWHC 860 (Admin)

  27. Tweede Kamer, 2009–2010, 32 476, no 2, https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/kst-32476-2.pdf; accessed 2/18/2016.

  28. The People’s Party of Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie, VVD), the Democrats’66 (Democraten’66, D 66) and the party Green-Left (Groen Links, GL).

  29. The Reformed Political Party (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij, SGP), the Reformed Political Federation (Reformatorische Politieke Federatie, RPF) and the Reformed Political Network (Gereformeerd Politiek Verbond, GPV).

  30. Tweede Kamer, 2009–2010, 32 476, no 2, see FN 24

  31. Tweede Kamer, 2012–2013, 32 476, no 7, https://www.eerstekamer.nl/behandeling/20130507/advies_raad_van_state_en_reactie/document3/f=/vjirto9xoont.pdf, accessed 18th February

  32. Tweede Kamer, 2009–2010, 28 481, no. 7, https://www.internetconsultatie.nl/integratiewetawgb/document/188; accessed 2/18/2016

  33. Tweede Kamer, 2009–2010, 32 476, no 2, see FN 24

  34. Tweede Kamer, 2009–2010, 32 476, no 2, see FN 28

  35. The liberal-left Democrats’66 (Democraten’66, D66), the VVD, the PvdA, the far-left Socialist Party (Socialistische Partij, SP) and Green-Left (Groen Links, GL)

  36. VVD/PvdA, Bruggen slaan Regeerakkoord VVD—PvdA., http://www.parlement.com/9291000/d/regeerakkoord2012.pdf; accessed 2/18/2016

  37. Tweede Kamer, 2012–2013, 32 476, no 7, see FN 28

  38. Full text of the included sentence in the three articles: ‘The first sentence leaves unchanged that a. an institution of religious or ideological basis, b. an institution of private education or c. an institution of political basis may make a difference with respect to persons that work for them on grounds of religion, belief or political orientation insofar as these characteristics are genuine, legitimate and justified occupational requirements with respect to the basis of the institution because of the kind of the specific occupational activity or the context in which it is performed. Such a difference cannot justify a difference on another ground named in article 1.”

  39. Eerste Kamer 2014/2015 no 22; https://www.eerstekamer.nl/stenogramdeel/20150303/annuleren_enkelefeitconstructie_3, accessed 2/18/2016.

  40. Annuleren enkelefeitconstructie AWGB, https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/h-ek-20142015-22-6.pdf, accessed 2/18/2016.

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  1. Faculty of Humanities and Theology, Technical University of Dortmund, Emil-Figge-Str. 50, 44227, Dortmund, Germany

    Matthias Kortmann

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Kortmann, M. When are churches allowed to discriminate? How churches’ role in public service delivery affects employment equality regulations. Acta Polit 55, 19–40 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-018-0097-x

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