Roman Catholic Church
The Church has been accused of being sexist and homophobic. This is in a large part because women are not allowed to become priests or have the highest positions of authority in the Church, and homosexual acts are seen as "intrinsically disordered".
However, look at the Church teaching on sexism, and you will see that the Catholic Church has made a point of stating the importance of women.
With regard to homosexuality, the Catechism (2358) says:
The number of men & women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfil God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
Whilst this is a clear statement against homophobia in any form, the Church's view on homosexual acts means that gay couples are treated differently, for example they are unable to adopt from Roman Catholic adoption agencies (unless the law compels them to allow it), and the Church requires them to remain celibate.
Specific teaching on equality includes:
1934 Created in the image of the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same nature and the same origin.... All therefore enjoy an equal dignity.
1935 The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as persons and the rights that flow from it: Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, colour, social conditions, language or religion, must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God's design.
1938 There exist also sinful inequalities that affect millions of men and women. These are in open contradiction of the Gospel: Their equal dignity as persons demands that we strive for fairer and more humane conditions...
Church of England
In a statement on the Equality Bill, which became the Equality Act, Church of England Bishops said:
The Christian Churches, alongside many other faiths, support the Equality Bill’s wider aims in promoting fairness in society and improving redress for those who have suffered unjust treatment.
They went on to suggest amendments that would allow Christian churches to choose not to employ someone as a church worker on the grounds of their religious beliefs. This is a difficult issue - it would seem wrong to suggest that someone could apply for the job of Youth Worker in a Church without sharing the faith of the people of the Church. However, churches have to be careful not to turn someone away when the job they are applying for does not require them to share their faith.
The Church has also been criticised for supporting faith schools, claiming that this leads to division rather than equality. Citing an academic study of Ofsted reports, the Church of England claimed:
Secondary schools with a religious foundation contribute significantly and substantially more to the promotion of community cohesion and the provision of equality of opportunity for students than other schools.
The Revd Janina Ainsworth, Chief Education Officer for the Church of England, comments in her introduction to the report:
“Schools with a religious foundation have a particular role in modelling how faith and belief can be explored and expressed in ways that bring communities together rather than driving them apart. They can minimise the risks of isolating communities for whom religious belief and practice are core parts of their identity and behaviour. In Church of England schools that means taking all faith seriously and placing a high premium on dialogue, seeking the common ground as well as understanding and respecting difference.
