Thread by @docrussjackson

Jesus wept.

He's been 'ordained' into something called the 'Free Church of England'. There's very little information about it, but this came up. 😬

So, following a little bit of digging, I've found something interesting & revealing.

The 'Free Church of England' came to the public's attention in 2010 with the case of Shirley Chaplin - a Christian nurse who was moved to a desk job after refusing to remove her crucifix.

Chaplin took the Royal Devon & Exeter #NHS Trust Hospital to an employment tribunal, claiming that taking off a necklace with a crucifix would "violate her faith". The trust said it was not about the crucifix, but about health & safety concerns about patients grabbing necklaces.

When a new-style uniform was introduced, she was asked to remove the necklace last summer & it was suggested she pin the crucifix inside her uniform but Mrs Chaplin could not accept that.

"I was being asked to hide my religion and my faith. I found it disrespectful."

Predictably, the Mail & The Telegraph ran dozens of provocative stories about the 'persecution' of Christians - yet they failed to mention significant details about Chaplin's background & behaviour which came to light during the tribunal.

Chaplin is a member of the conservative Free Church of England - the tiny Church, into which Calvin Robinson has just been ordained. Chaplin said: "I think any Christian in the workplace must be extremely careful to mention the word 'Christianity'."

In 2012, a former president of the National Secular Society wrote this article criticising the Mail & Telegraph's biased reporting, drawing attention to headlines like "Minister in legal battle to STOP Christians being able to wear a cross to work."

secularism.org.uk/opinion/2012/0…

The Daily Telegraph provocatively screamed "Christians have no right to wear cross at work, says Government."

In truth, there is no ban on crosses in the workplace. But occasionally there is an issue. Such as that of Nurse Shirley Chaplin.

At the time, the #NHS Trust's uniform and dress code prohibits front-line staff from wearing any type of necklace – be that a crucifix or a lucky pixie - in case patients try to grab them.

In court the whole story has to be told, not just the carefully edited highlights.

Chaplin's case - & another case brought by a British Airways worker - were supported by conservative evangelical activists who seek to build a narrative - so prevalent in the US - that Christians are a 'persecuted minority', which is a perfect fit Robinson's culture war ideology

Both cases were brilliant propaganda coups by the Christian activists who have struggled so hard (and spent so much money in the courts) to plant in the minds of the British that religion – and in particular, Christianity – is under fire in this country.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams criticised western Christians claiming 'persecution': “When you’ve had any contact with real persecuted minorities you learn to use the word very chastely. Persecution is not being made to feel mildly uncomfortable.”

Williams said that real persecution is “systematic brutality and often murderous hostility that means that every morning you wonder if you and your children are going to live through the day.” This is obviously not something that British Christians are experiencing.

Chaplin appealed & took her case to the European Court of Human Rights - who ruled that the hospital's rule was reasonable in order to protect the health and safety of nurses and patients.

However, there is a plot twist...

The Air Hostess Nadia Eweida, sent home from work by BA in 2006 for refusing to hide or take off the cross around her neck, appealed to the ECHR - currently under attack from the UK Government, the UK right-wing press, GB "News", & very vocally by Calvin Robinson.

By 2007, British Airways had announced that they would in future allow employees to wear a symbol of faith "openly" on a lapel pin, "with some flexibility ... to wear a symbol of faith on a chain", but refused to pay Eweida for the period of her suspension.

Eweida opted to pursue her case against BA at an employment tribunal, citing the original BA ruling as a form of discrimination against Christians. On 8 January 2008, after rejecting an out of court settlement offer reported at £8,500, Eweida lost her case.

The tribunal's report was fascinating & revealing & highlighted several other issues regarding Eweida's conduct at BA, including refusing to work on Christmas Day & telling a gay colleague that he could still be "redeemed".

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

The tribunal was funded in her action by a right-wing religious law firm in Arizona called the Alliance Defence Fund, whose affiliated lawyer was Paul Diamond, a familiar figure in court cases demanding religious privilege.

The tribunal also heard how Eweida's attitude and behaviour towards colleagues had prompted a number of complaints objecting to her: "Either giving them religious materials unsolicited, or speaking to colleagues in a judgmental or censorious manner which reflected her beliefs."

Still receiving widespread support from the likes of the Telegraph & Mail, Eweida appealed her case at the ECHR in September 2012. Three other similar cases were brought against the UK Govt for failing to provide domestic law to protect the claimed rights, rather than against BA.

The ECHR found her rights had been violated, awarding damages of €2,000 plus costs, saying BA had not reached a fair balance between Eweida's religious beliefs & the company's desire to have a particular corporate image, but ruled against the other 3 cases. The Mail's response?

The Mail screamed that the "UK loses 3 out of 4 European human rights cases", when in reality, it's more like 1 in 50.

Disturbingly, the Right's coordinated attack on the ECHR was underway long before #Rwanda, & long before Brexit.

Back in 2012, the “explosive research” was actually a report by Robert Broadhurst, a Parliamentary legal researcher for a group of Conservative MPs.

Broadhurst’s claim that "UK loses 3 out of 4 European human rights cases" were taken from the ECHR's own documents.

The facts reveal that between 1966 & 2012, out of a total of 443 judgments against the UK, in 271 there was a finding of at least one violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. This is compared to 86 finding no violation. However...

Between 1966 & 2012, 97% of cases against the UK were declared inadmissible, that is they were struck out. This means that in reality, of all the claims brought before the court against the UK (in the region of 15,700), only 3% made it to full hearings, & 1.7% succeeded.

So, not three quarters, as the Mail suggests, but under one in fifty cases brought before the court against the UK were successful, which in no way represents a court which is mounting a “relentless attack” on the British laws.

The ECHR hears a tiny amount of cases against the UK each year. The success rate is about the same the success rate across all states, & more a reflection of the high “manifestly unfounded” bar the court sets for Claimants than any “relentless attack” on British justice.

The British Right are nostalgic for the British empire - a time when Britain could go about its business unhindered by internationally agreed laws & conventions agreed mainly after WWII & designed to ensure no rogue regime can ever again commit atrocities against minorities.

British ideological extremists - like the Americans currently impersonating the Nazis in criminalising abortion - ignore the fact that Winston Churchill played a key role in setting up the ECHR to ensure #NeverAgain would #fascists commit atrocities.

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1537391717674008577?s=20&t=ph7DudOnt4W8bFn78Xub0g

Imho, this is reminiscent of what Paul Weyrich set out to do in the USA in 1980: align the Republican right with the white Christian far right; join hydrocarbon money to Southern Baptist (72million) votes & align non-progressive faiths of all stripes to attack & overturn rights.

In other news...

https://twitter.com/docrussjackson/status/1541038129108353025?t=eA_5ivfP2t47sBPTX8Y35w&s=19