Washington Times Editor Files Religious Discrimination Claim with EEOC

The former editorial page editor of the Washington Times has filed a discrimination complaint against the paper, saying he was forced to attend a Unification Church religious ceremony that culminated in a mass wedding conducted by the church's leader, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Richard Miniter, who was also vice president of opinion for the conservative newspaper, made the claim in a filing Tuesday with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that also disclosed he was fired last month. Mr. Miniter claimed in an interview that he "was made to feel there was no choice" but to attend the ceremony if he wanted to keep his job, and that newspapers' executives "gave me examples of people whose careers at the Times had grown after they converted" to the Unification Church. A Times spokesman said the paper would not comment.

For a more detailed discussion of this story, see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/17/AR2009111703325.html?hpid=newswell.