Final answer:
All classes mentioned, religion, sex, and marital status, are protected under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which prohibits credit discrimination on these grounds.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Equal Credit Opportunity Act is a federal law designed to prevent discrimination when individuals apply for credit. Under this Act, lenders are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of religion, sex, marital status, and several other factors when making decisions about the extension of credit to applicants.
Therefore, the correct answer to which of the following are protected classes under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act is 'All of the above'. The Act ensures fair treatment for all consumers and makes it illegal for creditors to reject or dismiss credit applications based on these personal characteristics.
For example, it ended discrimination whereby lenders could refuse to loan money to married women without their husbands or would only consider a husband's income for family credit.