A group of senior Church of England bishops, including the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, have written an open letter in defence of a Christian nurse who has been ordered by the NHS to stop wearing a cross around her neck.
They also complain of growing discrimination against Christians and Christian belief in British public life.
The nurse, Shirley Chaplain is taking her employer, the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust to the Exeter Employment Tribunal.
The NHS told her that wearing the cross is against its policy on uniforms even though members of other religious faiths are exempted from the policy.
The NHS says that while groups such as Sikhs are required to wear religious symbols, Christians are not.
However, in response the bishops point out that “for many Christians, wearing a cross is an important expression of their Christian faith and they would feel bereft if, for some unjustifiable reason, they were not allowed to wear it.”
They add: “To be asked by an employer to remove or ‘hide’ the cross is asking the Christian to hide their faith.
“Any policy that regards the cross as ‘just an item of jewellery” is deeply disturbing and it is distressing that this view can ever be taken.”
More generally, they say they are “deeply concerned at the apparent discrimination shown against Christians and we call on the Government to remedy this serious development.
“In a number of cases, Christian beliefs on marriage, conscience and worship are simply not being upheld.
“There have been numerous dismissals of practising Christians from employment for reasons that are unacceptable in a civilised country.
“We believe that the major parties need to address this issue in the coming general election.”