DISC 103: Religious Discrimination in Private Employment

This course addresses religious discrimination primarily in the private employment sector. This course will explore the following: (1) provisions of Title VII; (2) the meaning of "religious" and "religion" under Title VII; and (3) the different types of religious discrimination.

Section 703(a)(1) of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §2000e-2(a)(1), as amended, forbids covered employers from intentionally discriminating against any individual “because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” with respect to hiring, firing, compensation, and all other “terms, conditions, [and] privileges of employment.”  The next provision of Title VII forbids employers from limiting, segregating, or classifying applicants or employees “in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee [regardless of the employer’s intent or lack of intent to discriminate], because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”