Atheist Wins Discrimination Suit Against Catholic School
Sunday March 12, 2006
Last year, I wrote about David McNab, a math teacher in a Catholic school near Glasgow who was denied a promotion to "teacher of pastoral care" because he's an atheist. McNab sued and won - he was awarded £2000 in a ruling with wider implications for sectarian schooling.
The Daily Record reports:
Mr McNab, who is off work with stress, said later: “I was sick to death of being treated like a second-class citizen because I was not a Catholic. We shouldn’t have a two-tier system. We should have equality for all.”
Brian Napier, for Mr McNab, said only a minority of the issues brought to pastoral care teachers required a Catholic viewpoint. He also pointed out that 25 per cent of the school roll were non-Catholic.
This isn’t just about “pastoral care,” where at least it’s arguable that being Catholic could be relevant to the job:
At the moment, there is a “reserved” list of senior jobs, including head teachers and guidance teachers, that are only open to practising Catholics.
Do all head teachers and guidance teachers really need to be Catholic? That’s implausible — it sounds very much like a two-tiered system where Catholics are privileged and non-Catholics are second-class employees. This might sound appropriate for a Catholic institution, but such schools receive public funding and support, do they not? If they want to run their schools according to Catholic doctrine and nothing but, why not become completely private?
Separation of Church & State:
- Separation of Church and State 101
- Secularism 101
- What is the Separation of Church and State?
- Religion's Place in the Public Square
- Myths About Church/State Separation
- Church and State News
- Church & State Polls
Christian & Religious Privilege:
Religion in Public Schools:
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