All religious beliefs should be treated with respect

Tony Pettengell’s article ‘Wrong about rights’ (Personnel Today, 8 July) was a thinly veiled attack on those with religious beliefs.

Under the guise of writing about the Equality Bill, he suggested that one of the main causes of discrimination was religion, even going so far as to suggest that “the sooner all references to religions are expunged from law books, the sooner we’ll have an equal society”.

Granted, some religions behave abominably towards women, but this is not the sole cause of inequality in the workplace. There are many organisations that don’t treat women equally where the powers that be have nothing to do with religion.

Tony neglects to consider the issue of respect – not just respect for women, but for those who hold religious beliefs.

Discrimination legislation now rightly includes protection for workers of all religions at work – even atheists can bring tribunal claims.

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