Devout Christian Celestina Mba is pursuing legal action after being let go from a job for refusing to work on Sunday.

Even though the former caretaker lost her case in a lower court, she is now taking it to the court of appeals. Her success could introduce a whole new set of religious “rights” into the workplace, including days off for any religious group that claims it:

If the court rules for Mba it would also mean Muslims would have the right to take Fridays off and Jews to be excused from Friday and Saturday.

Andrea Williams, the founder of the Christian Legal Centre working on behalf of Mba, had this to say about the case:

“We are seeing secular courts ruling on core components of Christian practice. The courts have acted to protect the kara bracelet of the Sikhs, Afro cornrow haircuts, the wearing of the hijab and a Muslim’s right to fast, but have refused to grant protection to the cross of the Christian Sunday.”

Did you hear that secular courts? If “Afro” cornrow haircuts and kara bracelets are allowed in the workplace, then Christians shouldn’t have to work on Sundays!

One of the issues at hand is whether her employer offered her “reasonable accommodation” for her beliefs. Initially, her employers gave her Sundays off, but they eventually decided that when patient care was needed on weekends, it made the most sense to rotate weekend work-dates between all employees, including Mba. They weren’t discriminating against Christians, as Mba’s team is claiming, just as they’re not discriminating against Jewish employees by having them work on Fridays.

Hopefully, the court of appeals sees it that way, too.



