The Employment Appeal Tribunal has decided that a strong belief that mankind should take steps to avoid global warming is a "philosophical belief" for the purposes of the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 [subscription required]. In doing so, it gave some useful guidance on what is likely to be a "philosophical belief" under the legislation.
In the key passage of the judgment, the EAT said that, for a philosophical belief to come within the legislation, it must:
- be genuinely held;
- be a belief and not an opinion or viewpoint based on the present state of information available;
- be a belief as to a weighty and substantial aspect of human life and behaviour;
- attain a certain level of cogency, seriousness, cohesion and importance; and
- be worthy of respect in a democratic society and not incompatible with human dignity and or conflict with the fundamental rights of others.
Sadly, the judge did note that an individual with a belief in the supreme nature of Jedi Knights would fail this test on the basis of non-compliance with at least four of the criteria.
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