Atheist Age

A Victorian tribunal will be asked to decide if a Christian group can discriminate against gay people for religious reasons.

The Christian Brethren will face the discrimination complaint today after it stopped a suicide prevention project for gay youths from using its facilities.

While some religious groups have exemptions under the state’s equal opportunity act allowing for sexual discrimination, the group lodging the complaint will argue those exemptions end when it is involved in a commercial operation.

The complaint arose when the Christian Brethren’s campsite on Phillip Island was booked in 2007.

Gay youth support group WayOut had hoped to use the resort to host a group of gay rural Victorians, but they claim the Christian Brethren cancelled their booking ”once it became clear what the nature of the camp was going to be”.

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