This should be interesting…. Religious bigotry, and whether it is allowed in cases of employment, is being put to the test before the courts.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/junia-joplin-trans-pastor-law-suit-baptist-church-1.6137180 A Mississauga, Ont., pastor who was fired from a Baptist church after coming out as transgender has filed a lawsuit for wrongful dismissal, alleging her termination was spurred by discrimination.
Rev. Junia Joplin presented as male when she first took on the job of lead pastor at Lorne Park Baptist Church in 2014, and continued to do so until she came out to the congregation in a livestreamed sermon in June of last year.
Lorne Park Baptist Church said Wednesday that it went through a "process of attempting to discern God's will" after Joplin's announcement and did so in a "careful and thoughtful manner."
"In the end, the congregation voted to terminate her employment as lead pastor of the church, with the majority of the votes to terminate made for theological reasons," David Huctwith, chair of the church's executive council, said in a statement. "We offered her what we think was a fair severance."
The lawsuit, which seeks nearly $200,000 in damages, alleges the church breached the Human Rights Code, which prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity, gender expression, sex and other grounds."
It argues that while the code allows religious organizations to give preference to those of a similar creed, that exemption only applies when creed is an occupational qualification, and it does not allow discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression.
According to the church, they discerned “God’s will” about what should be done…. So maybe God’s will is on trial too? I wonder if the will of God will be allowed to be entered into evidence…?
Home
Contact
Login
Register