Common meaning:

Evaluation of the validity of knowledge produced by a person in a particular area by others working in the same field.

Hidden meaning of the Equity religion: 

The foundational beliefs of Equity are assumed and must not be questioned.

Discussion:

Many Equity believers who teach in higher education believe that the peer review system is broken because it does not accept Equity beliefs without question.

The whole point of a peer review process is that people ask questions about whether what you are saying is true. The fact that journal entries by Equity believers with crazy ideas have been rejected by reputable journals does not indicate the system is broken but that the system is working.

There are Equity believers who think that when many members from a dominant group receive publication that there’s something oppressive with the system. In reality it is simply a matter of merit and has nothing to do with hidden bias by particular groups.

Peer review is under attack, but hopefully it will hold out against the Equity religious fanatics.