Catholic schools in Tasmania have not ruled out the possibility of sacking or not employing teachers who openly identify as LGBTIQ+ if proposed changes to the Religious Discrimination Bill are passed.
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A clause within the proposed bill would allow religious and faith based schools and service providers to consider a person's religion in the employment process, with the aim to preserve religious ethos within staff cohorts.
It might include, for instance, schools looking at whether a person conforms or goes against religious principles on same-sex unions.
Working It Out chief executive Lynn Jarvis said proposing such laws in the 21st century was "beyond shameful", would have a profound impact on the mental health of LGBTIQ+ communities, and prevent people from applying for jobs in faith-based sectors.
When Catholic Education Tasmania was asked directly whether it would rely on the laws to sack or not employ teachers based on LGBTIQ+ grounds, or direct its schools to implement such policy, its executive director said a religious organisation should not be compelled to employ a person who actively and publicly opposes their creed, or advocates for its opposite.
He said state anti-discrimination laws in Tasmania, if applied strictly, make it illegal for Catholic schools to teach and uphold certain tenants of Christian belief.
"The opposition campaign distorts the intentions and wording of the current bill by attempting to portray it as a sword that will be used by religious organisations to victimise and persecute those of different views. The serious problem with this approach is that it ignores the bill's robust foundations in the principles of freedom," he said.
"There has never been anything intrinsically wrong with any employer appointing only those applicants who will align with the organisation's objectives and who intend to work towards agreed corporate goals. So, for a religious employer to employ only those staff who will uphold - or at least not actively oppose - their mission and creed, is a matter of natural justice."
Catholic Archbiship Julian Porteous said having the legal ability to require employees to uphold the religious values of the school is essential to the operation of faith-based schools.
"It is vital that our Catholic schools are free to present the fullness of Catholic teaching to students. All staff employed in our schools are expected to support Catholic teaching in their professional capacity, even if some may have personal reservations."
Dr Jarvis said if the laws passed, those in the LGBTIQ+ community would become hesitant about applying for work in not just faith based schools, but faith-based hospitals, disability and social service providers.
"The government is basically saying that a great swathe of public service providers now have the right to discriminate against you...that religious and faith-based schools and service providers, who provide a majority of social services in this country right now, may not be safe for the LGBTIQ+ community," Dr Jarvis said.
"A lot of these organisations will say they are safe, and they probably are, but we don't know when they might change and take advantage of these laws."
Dr Jarvis said the surrounding debates about the proposed laws, and need to defend against discrimination, took its toll on the mental health of LGBTIQ+ communities.
"This legislation allows religious organisations to discriminate against us but we aren't allowed to discriminate against them, which is fine, but it sets a double standard in Australia which is really, really dangerous,"she said.
"It is also just so tiring to continually be treated as if we are different, and that it is okay to discriminate against us."
