Negotiating equality in the equality act 2010 (United Kingdom): Church-state relations in a post-Christian society

Hunt, Stephen; Hunt, Stephen E.

Abstract

Few recent legislative enactments in the United Kingdom have wrought so much controversy as the Equality Act 2010. The far-ranging legislation, aiming to enhance civil rights and social inclusion, provides a unique opportunity to analyze how equality is perceived by UK governments and the implications this has for Christian constituencies, given that the right to religious freedom may, in some instances, be at variance with the right to object on moral and theological grounds to the liberties and citizenship of individuals designated to have “protected characteristics.” The Act, therefore, provides the subject of a searching examination of the issues between church and state in balancing these competing freedoms.

• Journal Article Type: Review
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 7, 2019
• Journal: Journal of Church and State
• Print ISSN: 0021-969X
• Electronic ISSN: 2040-4867
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 55
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 690-711
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/css078
• Keywords: equality, United Kingdom, equalit Act 2010, church-state, post-Christian society
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/927220
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jcs/css078