A consultation carried out by the Equality and Human Rights Commission has found widespread public confusion and misunderstanding about the laws protecting freedom of religion or belief. The results will inform a report on the adequacy of the laws protecting religion or belief to be issued later this year. The Commission will also be producing guidance for employers and people who provide services to the public. A recurring theme among some employees was the pressure they felt to keep their religion hidden at work and feeling discriminated against when it came to wearing religious symbols or expressing their beliefs. People reported being mocked for their beliefs including Christians, who said their colleagues assumed they were bigoted. Jewish and Muslim participants said they found it hard to get time off work, even as part of their normal annual leave, for religious observance. Humanists and atheists reported that they experienced unwanted attempts by work colleagues to convert them to religion.

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