Thoughts on prejudice, Christianity and the law

There was a time when casual racism was commonplace and (literally) unremarkable. We have thankfully left that behind – today racism is seldom ‘casual’ since no-one can argue seriously that they were unaware of what their words or actions signify. Of course, this does not mean that racism does not persist merely that we do not excuse even minor infractions. Some would argue that we have – in some instances – gone too far, at least in our responses to the use of racial terms and racial abuse. But, in the round, we are a better society for having made the changes – legal and behavioural – in our response to racism.

For sexuality, however, we have not travelled the same distance – while putting up a sign saying “no gays” is illegal, there remains a tendency to excuse actions or words that constitute ‘casual homophobia’. Most commonly this excuse comes in the form of ‘respecting religious faith’. Now, it is incontrovertible that mainstream Christian and Muslim belief views homosexuality as a sin (as is also the case for adultery, sex before marriage and masturbation). But this does not mean that Christians and Muslims should be exempted from anti-discrimination laws. So the woman managing a B&B who turns away a gay couple has no defence of being a Christian.

More interesting is how we respond as a society to this situation. Do we throw the full might and majesty of the law at the boarding house owner? Close her down? Or do we act proportionately – and if so, what exactly does that mean. It would be wrong to ignore the strictures of the law since that would undermine the effectiveness of that law. Would some sort of official “quiet word” be more effective? What I do think is that you cannot pass laws and expect that the following morning people will have changed what they think. And at the root of all this is prejudice – in this case a prejudice sustained by large, powerful religious organisations.

While there remains a liberal dilemma in all this – where do the rights lie in this matter – we have settled the issue of racial prejudice by saying that prejudice harms and therefore you have no right to be prejudiced (which isn’t the same as saying you cannot be prejudiced – the law can’t change that only you can). In the case of homosexuality, we have allowed ourselves to be constrained by a verse in Leviticus. Despite prejudice harming, we are prepared to excuse it in the interest of ‘respecting faith communities’. And the saddest thing in all this is that Christians (at least of the sort I was brought up to be) are taught to love the sinner – and that we are all sinners and that god loves us despite this. How can that be squared with turning a gay couple away from your B&B because you’re a Christian?

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