In reply to MG:
> I think emphasising anything non-job related unduly will probably put you at a disadvantage. I have seen CVs with half a dozen references to religious activity and I am sure that would often raise eyebrows and be rejected by some out of hand - it implies a lack of self-awareness if nothing else.
Sure, relevance is key in what should be a short punchy easy to read document. However, in medicine, very often very little separates people by academic merit, and thus other achievements become important. In a 3 page CV, there was one word in mine that referenced religion, which was the word "theology", sat next to the word "philosophy", in a final brief section:
Extracurricular Activity:
Music: Violin (grade 8), piano (grade 8) with teaching experience. Singing as a bass-baritone soloist.
Sport: Rock Climbing, mountaineering, sailing, and fell running
Other Interests: Chess, public debating, philosophy, and theology
> The same would probably occur if there were a similar number of references to say political activity of a particular sport. However, this doesn't seem to happen so much. Why mention an admin job in a church if it is not relevant to the application?
Well, the guy had mentioned it because there was an administrative component to the job, so he thought it might be relevant, and so he'd included a sentence to make that point and using it as an opportunity to expand on tasks/skills he had. Anyway, what I experienced happening to this guy was clearly discriminatory according to the clearly prejudicial viewpoints of the interview panel and piss-taking after the interview.