As I understand it you are absolutely correct - ethnicity is
covered by the RRA and religion is not and there has been
much case law (which you will have to track down) where
m'learned friends (who are 100% white and male) have decided
which groups are which. However, the European Framework
Directive which is coming into effect in the near future
outlaws discrimination on the grounds of, amongst others,
religion. It only applies to the field of employment (as
opposed to supplies of goods and services) but I would start
by suggesting to Universities that so much of the
race/religion area is covered one way or another that it is
going to be more trouble than its worth (and very bad PR) to
start trying to define who they can discriminate against
legally even if not morally.
Jon Appleton
Oxford Brookes University UNISON
Jenny Woodhouse wrote:
>
> Sorry, it's me again!
>
> As I understand it, under the RRA it is ethnicity that counts: an ethnic
> group with a common religion is protected as an ethnic, rather than a
> religious, group. Therefore I suppose people who define themselves as ethnic
> but not religious Jews are protected. (Don't read Koestler's Thirteenth Tribe
> - if he's right Jewish ethnicity is seriously questionable!)
>
> By contrast, unless there has been new case-law that I've missed Rastafarians
> do not qualify because they haven't been around enough to develop an 'ethnic'
> or group identity, therefore they are not protected even though they share a
> religion. For Sikhs the same argument has meant that because they are a
> cohesive religious/cultural group and have been so over a long history
> therefore they count as a distinct ethnic group.
>
> Over and over again it strikes me what contortions are involved in countering
> racism and other prejudices.
>
> Jenny
>
> Virginia Wainwright <[log in to unmask]> on 24/07/2002 12:21:10
>
> Please respond to HE Administrators equal opportunities list
> <[log in to unmask]>
>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> cc: (bcc: Jenny Woodhouse/PER/Central-Admin)
>
> Subject: Re: Religion
>
> Message-ID: <[log in to unmask]>
> Return-Receipt-To: Virginia Wainwright <[log in to unmask]>
> Priority: NORMAL
> X-Mailer: Execmail for Win32 5.1.1 Build (10)
> MIME-Version: 1.0
> Content-Type: Text/Plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Mustafa:
>
> You may well ask! The point as I understand it - and I don't pretend
> to, hence my request for advice - is that Sikhs and Jews may be
> considered to be 'ethnic religious minorities', but to other people,
> who may belong to a 'minority ethnic group' the definition does not
> include religion.
>
> Virginia
>
> On Tue, 23 Jul 2002 20:39:57 +0100 Mustafa Ozbilgin
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > Dear Jenny,
> >
> > I am sorry I sent the message to the group. I though I was replying to
> > Virginia personally. I am now in Luxembourg and feeling like a
> > real 'ethnic' as people in this small town (Differdange) speak only
> > Luxembourgish which is a language spoken by less than 400 thousand
> > people. It is extremely dissimilar to English, French or German. For
> > the last two weeks I spoke to only three people. This research project
> > was a mad idea.
> >
> > I better go and have an 'ethnic' sleep.
> >
> > Best wishes,
> >
> > Mussie
> >
> >
> > Quoting Jenny Woodhouse <[log in to unmask]>:
> >
> > > Dear Mustafa
> > >
> > > Nice to hear from you! Having decided that I would like to focus my
> > > mongrel
> > > Britishness on a (some generations back) Cornish ethnicity, I very
> > > much take
> > > your point!
> > >
> > > Jenny
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Mustafa Ozbilgin <[log in to unmask]> on 23/07/2002 14:10:06
> > >
> > > Please respond to HE Administrators equal opportunities list
> > > <[log in to unmask]>
> > >
> > > To: [log in to unmask]
> > > cc: (bcc: Jenny Woodhouse/PER/Central-Admin)
> > >
> > > Subject: Re: Religion
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Dear Virginia,
> > >
> > > What is non-ethnic?
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > >
> > > Mustafa
> > >
> > >
>
> > > > > Dr M F Hunt
> > > > > Equal Opportunities Officer
> > > > >
> > > > > University of Cambridge
> > > > > Personnel Division
> > > > > The Old Schools
> > > > > Trinity Lane
> > > > > Cambridge CB2 1TT
> > > > >
> > > > > Tel: +44 (0) 1223 332268 (Direct line)
> > > > > Fax: +44 (0) 1223 336954
> > > > > Email: [log in to unmask]
> > > >
> > > > ----------------------
> > > > Virginia M Wainwright
> > > > Equal Opportunities Officer
> > > > King's College London
> > > > James Clerk Maxwell Building
> > > > 57 Waterloo Road
> > > > London SE1 8WA
> > > > 020 7848 3399
> > > > [log in to unmask]
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Dr Mustafa Ozbilgin
> > > IRISS Fellow
> > > CEPS/INSTEAD - BP 48-44
> > > rue Emile Mark
> > > L-4501 Differdange
> > > Luxembourg
> > > Office: 00352 5858 55614
> > > flat: 00352 5858 55210
> > > Fax: 00352 5858 55600
> > > email: [log in to unmask]
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > Dr Mustafa Ozbilgin
> > IRISS Fellow
> > CEPS/INSTEAD - BP 48-44
> > rue Emile Mark
> > L-4501 Differdange
> > Luxembourg
> > Office: 00352 5858 55614
> > flat: 00352 5858 55210
> > Fax: 00352 5858 55600
> > email: [log in to unmask]
>
> ----------------------
> Virginia M Wainwright
> Equal Opportunities Officer
> King's College London
> James Clerk Maxwell Building
> 57 Waterloo Road
> London SE1 8WA
> 020 7848 3399
> [log in to unmask]
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