Judge In The U.K. Rules Christian Adoption Agency Cannot Ban LGBT+ Parents
A judge in the U.K. has ruled that adoption agencies cannot discriminate against same-sex couples who want to be parents, but they can discriminate on the basis of religion.
Cornerstone (North East) Adoption and Fostering Service’s policy is to ask “applicants to refrain from homosexual conduct” and it only works with potential parents who are evangelical Christians.
In 2019, the government agency Ofsted lowered Cornerstone’s rating from “good” to “requires improvement” during an inspection after noticing the agency discriminates.
Cornerstone sued Ofsted, arguing that the agency was “abusing its regulatory function” and was not “neutral in regards of religious beliefs.”
As ‘LGBTQ Nation’ reports, in a new ruling, Justice Knowles stated that the adoption agency doesn’t have the right to discriminate against LGBT+ parents, but they can reject applicants based on religion.
“The law requires Cornerstone to accept gay men and lesbian women as potential foster carers,” the judge ruled.
“Cornerstone is permitted to exclusively recruit evangelical Christian carers,” the judge also ruled.
The chair of Cornerstone, Sheila Bamber, said that she was “saddened that the fundamental place of biblically based Christian marriage in our beliefs has not been recognized.”
She also stated that the organisation will “prayerfully” consider whether they will continue their work.
Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman said that the ruling “offers much needed clarity in what is a difficult, complex area of law.”
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