Religious bodies certainly think so, but it is a questionable position to take. North Park University, a private Christian liberal arts in Illinois, decided against hiring a lesbian as a professor and she is suing, as the Chicago Tribune reports:
"The administration recruited me on the basis of my teaching and experience, knowing about my sexual orientation," said Kelly. "Now, they're saying I can't be hired because of it. It's a shock, really." ... Kelly, who said she is an active member of the All Saints' Episcopal Church, said the school did not mention it had any policy on sexuality during the interview process. "I think this is a pretty clear case of religion being used as a cover for discrimination," she said.
[University president, David] Horner says the school considers all of its full-time staff and faculty to be examples of the church's beliefs. "We see the faculty as embodiments of the mission of the university," he said.
Religious leaders may argue that everyone they hire serves as a representative of that religion's values and, hence, can be held to religious standards that might contradict anti-discrimination standards, but is that really true? Somewhere a line has to be drawn - there's no way that every janitor, every secretary, and every clerk at every business owned by a religious group should somehow be exempt from any laws against discrimination. Somewhere between priests and janitors, things change.
Read More: