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Taking diversity seriously: Religious associations and work-related discrimination 97
give any formal religious instruction’ apart from leading prayers, as did
other teachers, including non-Catholics. 100
A third distinction between the two cases asserted by Basson J was that
in the school at which Mrs Caldwell taught it was part of teachers’ job
descriptions that each was ‘expected to be an example consistent with the
teachings of the Church, and must proclaim Catholic philosophy by his or
her conduct within and without the school’. 101 By contrast, Basson J found
that the church had failed to show, in the absence of a written contract, that
it was part of Strydom’s job description to become a role model for
Christian values. This is a genuine point of divergence between the two
cases.
A similar decision to Caldwell was reached in a subsequent case
involving dismissal for failure to comply with the standards set by a
religious school. In Garrod v Rhema Christian School, 102 a teacher in a
Christian school was dismissed for having an extra-marital relationship,
which the school claimed ‘was in flagrant conflict with the principles of
Christian morals’. 103 The teacher claimed that she had been discriminated
against on the grounds of marital status. The Ontario Board of Enquiry
determined that in these circumstances the religious right of the employer
to require its staff to lead exemplary Christian lives trumped the rights of
the employee not to be discriminated against on grounds of marital status.
The teacher concerned acknowledged that it had been made clear to her
that being a teacher at the school required her to be a role model for
students. 104 There is no evidence in the decision that the teacher had
participated in the religious instruction of pupils.
In another decision, Kearley v Pentecostal Assemblies Board of
Education, 105 a divorced teacher at a Pentecostal collegiate resigned under
protest when the collegiate indicated it intended to fire her. She had
remarried in contravention of the church's belief that divorced persons
should not remarry while their former spouses are still living. She claimed
that the school had discriminated against her on the basis of marital status
and religion. She had contracted to abide by guidelines for Christian
teachers, which state that teachers are to support and uphold the basic
doctrines of the Collegiate 106 and ‘to demonstrate, through precept and
100
Caldwell (n 92 above) 606.
101 Caldwell (n 92 above) 608.
102 (1991) 15 Canadian Human Rights Reporter D/477 (Ontario Board of Enquiry).
103
Garrod (n 102 above) para 29.
104 Garrod (n 102 above) para 14.
105 (1993) 19 Canadian Human Rights Reporter D/473 (Newfoundland Board of
Enquiry).
106 Kearley (n 105 above) para 31.