Ireland scraps exemptions for religious institutions / "The Long Tail of Jansenism"

In Ireland, a proposal was -- unanimously, it appears -- enacted that will remove the exemptions for religious institutions from the country's "Employment Equality Act."

Section 37 of the existing law grants specific exemptions from sections protecting LGBT people to “religious, educational or medical institutions” – permitting them to discriminate “in order to maintain the religious ethos of the institution”.

However, the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill – which passed through its final stages in the Dáil late last night without opposition – strips the exemptions from the law.

Especially noteworthy is this quote, from one of the proposal's supporters:

“This Bill removes a major barrier to that principle for those working in publicly funded institutions. We also note where further progress remains to be made for privately funded religious-run institutions, for trans people and for those of no religion.”

In light of this news, our own Michael Moreland's post on the "long tail" of Jansenism seems worth re-reading.