Should a Christian counselor be allowed to refuse to counsel gay couples?

Catz Part Deux said:

His employer should know better than to issue such an absurd directive. Counseling works best when there are matching frameworks of beliefs to build upon between the counselor and the client. So, matching someone religiously is a true positive. Forcing a mismatch is simply bad policy.

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They could have avoided this whole thing easily by not expecting everyone to be alike. As long as the Christian counselor wasn't obnoxious about his beliefs, whats wrong with him referring the patient to a better suited counselor?

Counseling people shouldn't be some type of assembly line industry. And it's different than the rest of medicine in many ways, although this scenario is comparable to asking a pro-life doctor or nurse to assist with an abortion I suppose.

The report is a vehicle for another anti-Labour hit piece from the Daily Wail. Be that as it may, the employers' comment from the linked article.

" ... " 'Relate's trusted service, both in Avon and across the country, relies on making sure that all members of society, regardless of their gender, age, race, religion, sexual orientation or relationship status are able to access respectful and professional counselling and sex therapy.
'Relate is committed to supporting all religious beliefs working within Relate.
'However, our primary consideration is to our clients who often need complex advice and assistance.
'We cannot allow anything to damage our clients or to undermine the principle of trust that underpins our work.' .. "

A previous tribunal found that he was unfairly dismissed (so they broke some aspect of employment law when they originally sacked him) but also that "he had not been discriminated against", so whatever the reason they gave for sacking him, it wasn't his religion.

MyOwnDrum said:

A Christian counselor in Britain got sacked because he refused to counsel a gay couple regarding their sex life. Do you think this should be allowed? Should insurance agencies, or the government, force counselors to provide mental health services that violate their individual religious and/or moral codes?

Christian counsellor who refused to offer sex advice to gay couples fails in religious discrimination claim | Mail Online

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It's up to the employer. I have no problem with a counselor refusing service to a client due to moral concerns. Would we make someone counsel a mobster if they were uncomfortable or didn't want to? There are plenty of valid reasons to refuse service. Give a referral and be done with it. Ultimately, the employer can set the rules for this, if they really her sacked, then sacked she is. But it's absolutely not a government issue.