"singled out for criticism" because she refuses to force Catholic agencies to allow adoptions by same-sex couples.
"Politicians should not be singled out for criticism because of their religious beliefs," the Evangelical Alliance UK said as pressure mounts on Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly.
Kelly, a devoted Catholic, has reportedly objected to a proposed regulation that would cut off funding for those Catholic adoption services that refuse to accept applications for child adoption from gay and lesbian couples.
It would also bar local governments from having any dealings with Catholic adoption agencies, who receive 80 percent of their funding from local authorities, said Philippa Gitlin, director of Caritas Social Action, the umbrella organization for Catholic care providers in comments.
OTHER ADOPTION AGENCIES
Currently Catholic organizations refer gay couples to other adoption agencies. Minister Kelly has said her reservations towards the proposed regulation does not mean she is not committed to equality.
In a statement to BosNewsLife, the Evangelical Alliance UK said it beliefs Kelly’s faith "does not make her unsuitable" for office.
"Everyone, whether Christian or not, comes to public life with values, commitments and a moral framework which influences the way they see the world," said the Alliance’s Public Policy Director David Muir.
"Having a faith commitment should in no way disqualify a person from public life – that would amount to religious discrimination." Muir added that the legislation, "by its very nature, is imprecise and can lead to unintended consequences, such as the current problem."
DECISION NEXT WEEK
The British government was to announce its decision next week as to whether Catholic adoption agencies can opt out from placing children for adoption with same-sex parents, because of their religious beliefs.
Minister Kelly has suggested there is room to grant exemptions to the Sexual Orientation Regulations (SOR) which came into force in Northern Ireland on January 1 and are scheduled to be introduced in England, Wales and Scotland in April.
The SOR’s ban businesses from discriminating against gay people in the provision of goods and services. They make it a crime for hotels and other businesses to refuse to rent rooms to homosexuals and for churches to deny use of their halls for civil union ceremonies for same-sex couples. Gay business owners are barred from deny services to heterosexual couples.
This month Christian activists protested outside the Palace of Westminster against the new legislation saying it would force them to "condone and promote homosexuality," and presented a petition to the Queen signed by 10,000 Christians.
The SOR’s have underscored concerns among Christian rights groups and churches about what they say is growing pressure in the UK on devoted Christians to accept norms imposed on them by an increasingly secularized and multi-religious society.
