A northern Swedish nursing assistant has reported her employer to the national authorities after she was apparently fired for her religious beliefs.
The Local reports that the woman, who lives in Umea and is a Jehovah’s Witness, told a co-worker that according to the Bible, people were not meant to be born with illnesses.
The woman’s comments came after her colleague suggested that the reason one of their patients, a young disabled girl, had been born with such difficulties, was because they allowed her to provided happiness to those around her. The care worker also apparently criticised homosexuality when asked for her opinion on the subject by a co-worker.
The assistant nurse was summoned before her employer who denounced her strong religious views. Her manager also claimed she believed children with disabilities were being punished by God.
“But that was the exact opposite of what I said,” wrote the woman in her letter of complaint to the Swedish Discrimination Ombudsman.
The family of the disabled girl is reported to have lost all faith in the care assistant, although she denies ever speaking with them about her beliefs.
Swedish law stipulates that it is illegal to fire anyone due to ethnicity, gender or religious and sexual preferences.
[…] Sacked for being a Jehovah’s Witness, claims Swedish care assistant […]
As reprehensible as the situation might be, I think the woman who was fired may indeed have been misunderstood. Witness theology teaches that people were never supposed to have illnesses, but sickness and disability came about because of Adam and Eve’s sin. I think that’s what she was probably trying to say, but it was (understandably) misinterpreted by her coworker and supervisor. Witnesses absolutely do NOT believe that children with disabilities are being punished by God. They sometimes think they might be given extra challenges themselves because they’re not believing enough, but for all of their bizarre thinking about many things in the world, they wouldn’t say that about a child.
I believe the woman, I think that she is the victim here. The company obviously wanted rid of her