Alan - Are not your caveats are satisfied by the fact that her
clinical performance was apparently satisfactory?
BTW, there have been clients that I, as an attorney, have declined to
represent, as it has been obvious to me that, because their goals were
so diametrically opposed to mine, I would not be able to adequately
represent them (such as people who want to spay and neuter all dogs, and
ultimately do away with all pet ownership). I rarely have that problem
with religious organizations, however, as long as they are sincere in
their beliefs.
Lisa
On 7/29/2010 11:02 AM, Brownstein, Alan wrote:
I think Lisa Runquist draws an important distinction that clarifies
the issue and its resolution. Excluding someone from professional
education suggests that their beliefs, or more precisely the
influence of their beliefs on their behavior, prevents them from
providing competent professional services in almost any circumstance.
The religious beliefs at issue in some cases may disqualify a person
from being hired for certain counseling positions – but there may be
other opportunities for which their beliefs do not pose a barrier to
the successful performance of their duties. Dismissal from
professional school seems premature and unjustified in such circumstances.
In the counseling context, I might offer two tentative caveats
(tentative because I have so little expertise relating to this
profession). First, it may be that being a successful counselor
requires the practitioner to be able to distance themselves from the
beliefs of the client at least to some extent. If that is the case
(and I emphasize “if” here), then there may be reason to dismiss a
student who is completely incapable of separating her own views from
the needs of her client. There may be quasi-counseling jobs that
person may fulfill, but she cannot be certified as counselor under
professional standards.
The second caveat is that the student must be willing to abide by
accepted clinical requirements – which may require the temporary
subordination of her beliefs to avoid harm to the client. The
situations described in these cases presume that an openly gay or
lesbian client seeks counseling and the counselor chooses to refer
that client to another counselor because her religious beliefs would
interfere with the provision of counseling services to that
individual. In situations where such referrals are easily arranged,
that seems like a win-win decision. The counselor and client will be
better off if the client sees a different counselor.
In some cases, however, the client’s homosexuality (or other personal
characteristic that the counselor cannot affirm because of her
religious beliefs) may not be disclosed until several counseling
sessions have been completed. It may be that in such a circumstance,
it is still desirable for the client to transition to a different
counselor. But clinical requirements designed to protect the client
may preclude any abrupt transfer of responsibilities. If a student
indicated that even in such situations, she would not be able to
subordinate her beliefs even temporarily in order to protect the
mental health of her client – the professional school may have reason
to dismiss the student from its program.
Alan Brownstein
*From:* religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu
[mailto:religionlaw-boun...@lists.ucla.edu] *On Behalf Of *Lisa A.
Runquist
*Sent:* Thursday, July 29, 2010 8:41 AM
*To:* religionlaw@lists.ucla.edu
*Subject:* Re: Augusta State University student sues school over
requirement that she undergo "remediation" due to her religious views
On 7/28/2010 3:23 PM, Lisa A. Runquist wrote:
If the person completed all of the requirements to obtain a degree,
the degree should be granted, regardless of their religious beliefs.
That would include allowing someone to graduate from medical school,
even if they do not believe in blood transfusions or abortions. And
they should be able to obtain a degree from the counselor education
program if, as appears to be the case in this situation, both the
academic showing and the clinical performance are adequate.
The question of obtaining licensing is a second matter, although
again, if the person is otherwise qualified, that person should be
granted a license -- e.g. if the person passes the bar exam, is of
good moral character, etc., then he or she should be able to become a
lawyer, regardless of his or her religious beliefs.
Then comes the bottom line question which is being incorrectly posed
as the answer to the first: Can and should that person be hired for a
particular position? But this is a third and totally separate
question. Clearly if the person is unable to perform the functions of
the job, he or she should not be hired. And if the person insists on
interjecting religion into a non-religious workplace, they probably
would be fired from most jobs (for good cause). But that does not
mean the person would not be a good counselor in other situations.
Many religious organizations provide counselors for their
constituents; these people want counseling from someone with strong
moral standards rather than from someone who has no moral standards at
all, or standards that are far different from theirs. Why should we
deny them the ability to hire counselors with similar religious
beliefs, by refusing to allow said person(s) to graduate, and/or to be
licensed? This clearly does not mean everyone will want to or should
use that counselor, just as not everyone will want a counselor who is
unwilling to hold fast to his or her beliefs.
--
Lisa A. Runquist
Runquist& Associates
Attorneys at Law
17554 Community Street
Northridge, CA 91325
(818)609-7761
(818)609-7794 (fax)
l...@runquist.com
http://www.runquist.com
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