Veteran English nurse ordered to remove crucifix
September 21, 2009
An English nurse has been suspended from position-- just 8 months before scheduled retirement-- because she refuses to remove a crucifix that she has been wearing at work on the job for over 30 years. Administrators of the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust told Shirley Chaplin that she could wear the crucifix inside her clothing, but it must not be visible. A necklace, administrators said, poses a safety risk-- although they could not cite a single accident ever caused by a necklace, and hospital staff members routinely wear ID tags around their necks. The Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust said that the order to remove the crucifix was not a violation of Chaplin's religious freedom because the wearing of a crucifix is not "a requirement of Christian faith."
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