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Substantive issues relating to the Regulations
• The Northern Ireland SORs have been controversial primarily because of the impact they will
have on freedom of religion and freedom of conscience for Christians.

• The primary concern held by hundreds of thousands of Christians, is that a law which is intended
to remove discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation inadvertently discriminates heavily
against Christians.

• The following information highlights just four of the areas in which the Northern Ireland SORs
currently create inequality by making it illegal for Christians to continue to freely hold and profess
the Biblical teaching on sexual morality:
1) Freedom of religion

• In Regulation 16 of the Northern Ireland SORs, there is an exemption from the nondiscrimination
requirements for organisations whose purpose is to practice, advance or teach a
religious belief. This exemption acts to prevent, for example, a vicar in a church from being
required to carry out a blessing of a practising homosexual couple.

• That this exemption is necessary recognises a basic principle: the law should not force Christians
to act contrary to the Bible’s teaching by requiring them to actively condone any extra-marital
sexual conduct (heterosexual or homosexual).

• However, Regulation 16 applies only to organisations – individuals are not protected. This is
illogical: Christianity quite clearly makes the same requirements of an individual (that they do not
condone sinful behaviour) as it makes of a Christian organisation such as a church.

• The Northern Ireland SORs are inconsistent and discriminatory because they tell a Christian that
whilst in church they have freedom of religion, freedom of conscience and freedom of expression
to be taught that homosexual practice is a sin, outside the doors of the church, legislation
makes it illegal for them to refuse to promote and assist homosexual practice.

• Under the Northern Ireland SORs 1) it will be illegal for a Christian printer in Northern Ireland to
refuse to print material promoting gay sex, 2) it will be illegal for an Islamic wedding
photographer to refuse to attend and take publicity photographs at a gay Civil Partnership
ceremony and 3) it will be illegal for a Jewish conference centre to refuse to allow its premises to
be used by an organisation promoting homosexual practice.

• There are myriad other examples. One of many e-mails we have received about this issue stated:
“The Bible clearly teaches the difference between the homosexual person (whom God loves) and
homosexual behaviour (which God abhors). Christianity does not just apply on Sunday, it is the
framework for living seven days a week, 24 hours a day. I work as a self-employed computer
consultant. These regulations would mean I could be prosecuted [sic] if I refuse to build a
website promoting homosexual behaviour for a homosexual rights organisation or individual. Or,
for that matter, if I refuse to produce a leaflet or newsletter promoting homosexual behaviour.”

• The Northern Ireland SORs do not afford the same protection given in Canada where in 2002 the
Ontario Superior Court of Justice held that a Christian printer could not be compelled to print gay
or lesbian material where this would be contrary to his fundamental religious beliefs (Ontario
Human Rights Commission v Brockie).