When discrimination occurs because of your religion or belief, it can take multiple forms that you may not be informed of. But first, let us define what religion or belief discrimination is.

 

The act of religious discrimination is defined as when you are dealt with differently due to your religion or conviction, or because of your absence of religion or conviction. This can take place not just intentionally, but also because of certain rules or policies being enacted at that certain location. These locations include at the workplace of a person, in schools and at home. 
You are also protected by law from discrimination because of your belief/religion if you:​

• belong to an organized religion such as Christianity, Judaism, or Islam

• have a profound belief which affects your way of life or view of the world. This includes religious and philosophical beliefs, or a lack of belief, such as Atheism

• take part in collective worship

• belong to a smaller religion or sect, such as Scientology or Rastafarianism

• have no religion, for example, if you are an atheist.

• are affiliated with someone who has a religion or belief (described as discrimination by association

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Having defined these, there are four main types of religious discrimination: Direct discrimination, Indirect discrimination, Harassment, and Victimisation.

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Direct discrimination is defined as someone treats you worse than someone else because of your religion or belief in a similar situation. An example of this is when a bank refuses you a loan because you're Jewish. Indirect discrimination occurs when an organization, because of your religion or belief, has a particular policy or way of working that extends to everyone but places you at a disadvantage. For example, this takes place when you are not allowed into a restaurant because you' are wearing a hijab or turban or when requiring all your employees to dress in a particular way even if this means they can’t wear an item of clothing they regard as part of their faith.

 

Harassment simply happens when someone makes you feel embarrassed, insulted or abused in the workplace. This is only restricted to the workplace and anything else that occurs outside it may be classified as Direct discrimination. Finally, Victimisation is defined as if you are treated badly because of your protest against a religious or belief discrimination act. This also applies if someone else is making a complaint against the religious discrimination act. For instance, if you act as a witness in someone else's discrimination case and you are untreated unfairly because of this.