From Gay Star News UK: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/religious-groups-defend-their-right-discriminate260113
Lobby groups and academics tell Senate hearing that freedom of religion should not mean freedom to discriminate
By Anna Leach
26 January 2013
Religious leaders spoke to a Senate hearing on Thursday to defend their exemptions in Australia’s new Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill.
The Bill controversially includes exceptions for religious organizations, effectively allowing them to discriminate against sexual orientation and gender identity minorities.
‘We believe that these exemptions, as they are called, are necessary to give expression to other fundamental human rights such as freedom of religion, association and cultural minorities,’ said Bishop Robert Forsyth from religious freedom advocates Freedom 4 Faith.
‘I am not defending the bigotry,’ Forsyth insisted.
‘I am not here to defend any particular view on any behaviours, but if a religious community holds certain deeply-held views about what is right and wrong, and you want them to maintain their integrity, you cannot force them to hire people who disagree – whether rightly or wrongly – with that community’s views.’
Forsyth added that it was necessary to provide ‘oases’ where ‘you can do things which could not be done otherwise’.
Continue reading at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/religious-groups-defend-their-right-discriminate260113
