Would-be tenants play 'religion' card

Q: During an interview with a potential landlord, we were asked some odd questions that, on reflection, seemed designed to find out if we are religious. She asked me where we got married (not just the city, but the site), and how we liked to spend Sundays. We replied honestly -- we got married at a hotel, and spend Sundays on our bikes or hiking -- no mention of attending religious services. Though we have excellent credit and references, we were turned down, and later learned from someone in the building that the owner is practically a religious fanatic. Was this an instance of illegal discrimination? --Marcia S.

A: Let's assume for the moment that this landlord was in fact trying to figure out whether you were religious. Under the federal Fair Housing Act (and similar laws of many states), landlords may not "… make … any … statement … with respect to the … rental of a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on … religion,"  per 42 U.S.C.A. Section 3604(c).

When discrimination based on religion comes up in the rental application process, it's usually in the form of a landlord wanting to avoid renting to prospects of a certain religion, or wanting to attract those of specific religions.

For example, a landlord's remark during an interview that few Catholics live on the property could be evidence of that landlord's preference for non-Catholics. Conversely, a landlord's repeated references to a nearby synagogue and the house rule for quiet hours between sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday could be taken to convey a preference for religious Jews.

What you encountered, however, was not a preference for or against people in specific religions, but evidence of the landlord's preference for religious persons in general. The question is, did Congress intend to protect people who are not religious from discrimination to the same extent that members of mainstream religions are protected?

This question has been answered with a resounding "yes" in the employment context. Simply put, religious freedom includes the freedom to reject religion: For the purposes of anti-discrimination law, not believing in God (or a particular religion's version of same) is a protected religious belief. If employers refuse to hire or otherwise discriminate against humanists, agnostics or atheists, employees can sue for religious discrimination. As odd as it may seem (particularly to atheists), these laws treat atheism as a form of religion.

To my knowledge, no state or federal court has addressed the question in a rental context, however. If you were to take your case to court, you'd be asking the judge to take a cue from the employment cases and give you the protection of the anti-discrimination laws. ...CONTINUED

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