Catholic social worker claims she was fired because of her religion — and not because she refused to counsel gay people

A Catholic social worker who was fired after she refused to counsel a gay couple has filed a lawsuit claiming she was terminated for her religious beliefs.

Hemant Mehta at Patheos' The Friendly Atheist wrote that Michigan social worker Kathleen Lorentzen was told by her employer to be a "social worker first and a Catholic second" after she requested to be transferred off of a marriage counseling case involving a gay couple due to her Christian belief that marriage is between a man and a woman. Soon after, she was fired.

Now, Lorentzen is suing HealthSource Saginaw for her termination. According to her suit, the social worker's employers discriminated against her sincerely-held religious beliefs.

In a profile on the case by conservative pundit Todd Starnes, Lorentzen counseled gay couples in the past, but draws the line at counseling same-sex couples on marriage.

"This case shows that people of faith are under assault in the workplace,” attorney Tyler Brooks of The Thomas More Law Center said. “The fact is, however, that Christians need not choose between their faith and their jobs.”