UK Christians feel that they are “subjected to more stringent application of rules restricting religion in the public 
sphere than other groups,” the US State Department has noted.
In its annual Report on International Religious Freedom, the Department noted that there was “ increasing public concern over the ability of Christians to express their faith in the workplace”.
The section [1] of the report on the UK cited a number of examples suggesting that authorities were taking a tougher line against Christians as compared to the faithful of other religions.
It noted a case from March of this year in which the UK government revoked the registration of a Christian foster mother after the woman’s 16-year-old foster daughter converted from Islam to Christianity.
According to the report, the foster mother in question said that she did not encourage the girl to explore Christianity and that she offered to take the girl to places where she could practice Islam.
The girl reportedly insisted on learning about Christianity and eventually chose to be baptised.
The report also noted the case of Nadia Eweida who was instructed by British Airways not to wear a visible cross while on duty, and the case of a nurse who had been moved to an office role after refusing to remove a necklace bearing a crucifix.
The report noted that the nurse had worn the necklace for 30 years previously.
The report also pointed to the cases of Lilian Ladelle, a Christian marriage registrar who was fired for refusing to officiate for same-sex civil partnerships and street preacher Dale McAlpine charged with criminal offence for saying that “homosexuality is a sin” in the course of a discussion with a police officer.
The report said: “Police took McAlpine away in a van and locked him in a cell for seven hours. They charged him with violating Sections 5(1) and (6) of the 1986 Public Order Act and released him on bail on the condition that he not preach in public.
“On May 13, 2010, the CPS dropped the charges.”
During the reporting period, conflicting rulings by schools, school boards, employment tribunals, and courts on what is and is not permitted dress in schools and places of employment led to controversy and legal challenges.
The report also noted what it described as “improvements and positive developments in religious freedom”. It pointed to a ruling by the UK High Court in March ordering the Charity Commission to reconsider its refusal to grant Catholic Care an exemption from equality regulations.
The exemption would have allowed Catholic Care to continue placing “hard to place” children with heterosexual families.
The report pointed out that Catholic Care is the last Catholic adoption agency functioning in line with Catholic teachings. The others have had to close their adoption programs or disassociate themselves from the church to follow the equality regulations.
However, the report failed to mention that Catholic Care ultimately lost the appeal in August, after the Commission ruled that it could no longer specially favour married couples as adoptive parents.
The report also described as positive the vote by the House of Lords against changes to the Equality Bill that would have left churches vulnerable to legal challenges if they refused to hire persons who did not “live a life consistent with the ethos of the religion.”