Christian Nurse Ordered to Remove Cross, at Hospital that allows Muslim Headscarves

by: Luke Salkeld


A Christian nurse was ‘forced to choose between her job and her faith’ after being ordered to remove her crucifix at a hospital where Muslim staff wore headscarves unchallenged, a tribunal heard yesterday.

Shirley Chaplin, 54, said she had been wearing the religious symbol around her neck without complaint for 31 years before she was ordered to hide it away.

But the grandmother claims that after refusing to comply and then pointing out that two women doctors were allowed to wear headscarves, she was moved to a desk job.

Her case has caused uproar among Christian support groups, who feel their beliefs are not being given the same respect as other faiths. At the weekend her case against the NHS was backed by seven senior Anglican bishops who issued a national letter of support.

Yesterday, on the first day of an employment tribunal, Mrs Chaplin, from Kenn, near Exeter, Devon, told of her fight to be allowed to carry on wearing the crucifix.

She is claiming religious discrimination in a case backed by the Christian Legal Centre, which says her treatment is a symptom of increasing discrimination against Christians.

Mrs Chaplin is due to retire later this year but hopes the case will force the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital to change its policy so staff can openly wear crucifixes.

The hospital says she was asked to remove the necklace after a risk assessment showed it could be pulled by one of the patients in her care. They insist it is a health and safety issue and that the problem is not with the crucifix but the necklace it is attached to.

Mrs. Chaplin told the tribunal in Exeter she was given the crucifix as a confirmation.





Fighting for the right to wear her cross:
Mrs. Chaplin is being supported by the Church of England community including Reverend John Eustice, left, and barrister Paul Diamond

"The crucifix is an exceptionally important expression of my faith and my belief in Lord Jesus Christ," she said. "The cross must be worn visibly otherwise my reasons for wearing it are severely undermined."

"There were no issues until I was asked to remove it in the summer of 2009."

Mrs. Chaplin said she took the request as an attack on her faith, pointing out that the health and safety threat caused by the crucifix was negligible.

Her superiors refused a suggestion she wear the cross pinned to her uniform, to remove the "risk" of the chain. She said this confirmed to her that "they simply wanted to remove the visibility of the crucifix."

"I was distressed and in fear of having to choose between my faith and my job."

She added: "I identified two female Muslim doctors permitted to wear a headscarf, which raises more profound health and safety issues."

Mrs. Chaplin said she was later called to a series of meetings during which she pointed out that the hospital’s in-house literature shows staff wearing necklaces. But she was moved to a non-clinical job in September under threat of disciplinary action.

In a letter to a Sunday newspaper, seven bishops including the former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr George Carey, said the case was a further example of discrimination against their faith and demanded the Government take action to protect Christians.