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Taking diversity seriously: Religious associations and work-related discrimination 85
4 What did Strydom hold?
In Strydom, the contract of Strydom, a music teacher working in an
academy run by the Dutch Reformed Church – an ‘independent
contractor’ and ‘not an employee of the church’ 45 – was terminated by the
church when it discovered that he was involved in a homosexual
relationship. Strydom, who was not a member of the church, claimed that
by terminating the contract for this reason, the church had unfairly
discriminated against him on the grounds of sexual orientation, one of the
grounds expressly prohibited by the Equality Act. The church averred in
response (a contention that was not disputed) that it was a settled belief of
the church that ‘persons of homosexual orientation must ... be celibate and
cannot be involved in a homosexual relationship’ which, if engaged in,
would ‘amount to a cardinal sin in view of the church's teachings based on
the Bible’. 46 The church claimed that persons in positions of leadership are
required to comport themselves in accordance with church doctrine,
including its doctrines concerning homosexuality. 47 His position, the
church asserted, required him to conduct himself as a ‘role model’, which
meant following an ‘exemplary Christian lifestyle’. 48 His involvement in a
homosexual relationship, the church claimed, rendered him unfit to teach
since it was inconsistent with an exemplary Christian life. The church
claimed that a teacher's involvement in a homosexual relationship would
‘set a bad example to his students’ and that a failure to terminate his
contract could result in the church being seen to condone a homosexual
relationship. 49
Basson J proceeded to decide the matter on the basis that ‘the right of
equality must be balanced against the freedom of religion of the church’. 50
It will be useful for the purposes of assessing the decision to identify and
distinguish key steps in the Court's reasoning as it carries out this
proportionality exercise. The following findings and determinations
appear in the judgment: (1) that an exemption to permit a church-run
institution to engage in work-related discrimination should only be granted
if the activities performed by the individual against whom the church seeks
to discriminate are sufficiently proximate to the beliefs of the religion; (2)
that notwithstanding that Strydom worked as a teacher in a religious
45 Strydom (n 8 above) paras 1 & 20.
46
Strydom (n 8 above) para 12. Basson J does not mention the biblical sources on which
the church relied, but biblical verses frequently interpreted as injunctions against active
homosexuality include Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:26-7, 1 Corinthians
6:9-10 and 1 Timothy 1:9-10. There is no indication from the judgment that the
existence of a coherent theological basis for the school’s stance on sexual morality was
disputed, but a resolution of this dispute, had it arisen, would anyway have taken the
court beyond its legitimate role.
47 Strydom (n 8 above) para 15.
48 Strydom (n 8 above) 16.
49
Strydom (n 8 above) paras 21 & 23.
50 Strydom (n 8 above) para 8.