(ZENIT News / London, 06.01.2024).- England’s teaching authorities have declared a Christian teacher guilty of “unacceptable professional conduct” for refusing to teach “extreme LGBTQI ideology” in a secondary school of the Church of England.
The Epoch Times reported that Glawdys Leger, 43, a teacher for 12 years, specialized in modern foreign languages, was dismissed from the Bishop Justus CofE school in Bromley, Kent, in May 2022, and labelled a “dangerous criminal” for refusing to teach LGBTQI lessons of the Religious Education Program to 7th year students.
Mrs Leger explained her position: “I stated what I did because the children were being taught an extreme LGBTQI+ narrative in the school, without debate. However, for stating, expressing and teaching Christian beliefs on these subjects, I’ve been accused of not presenting a balanced view.”
She stressed that a Christian or religious school “must be frank and honest with parents who think they have sent their children to a Christian school, if the latter no longer adheres to Christian teachings and beliefs or even its own teachings on human sexuality (. . . ). They must be transparent with parents in the sense that, in many cases, some Christian schools are imposing profoundly controversial and damaging ideologies on children without the permission or knowledge of their parents.”
Mrs Leger is backed by the Christian Legal Center, which handles cases of persons accused because of their faith. The school in question stated that the educational materials for religious formation entitled “Who Am I?”, include showing children of the 7th year gender concepts such as pansexual, asexual, intersexual and transgender.
Mrs Leger expressed her beliefs to the students during a discussion on LGBT topics: “God believes that humans are born men and women, and that the LGBTQI practice is sinful. “ On December 14, the Christian Legal Center stated that the Government’s Teaching Regulation Agency ruled the teacher guilty of “unacceptable professional conduct,” although it did not ban her from teaching.
The Agency pointed out that an action of Mrs Leger could not be proven to discredit the profession or that her conduct was “contrary to fundamental British values for her lack of tolerance of those that have different beliefs.” In response to the Agency’s decision, Mrs Leger said she felt relieved “not to be banned from teaching in the United Kingdom (. . . ). “However, it seems extremely alarming to me that they said I was guilty of discussing and debating Christian teaching in a Christian school during an education lesson.”
Glawdys Leger also said that the Agency transmits a firm message to teachers: “Christian teachers not only must keep silent about their beliefs, but must actively promote the LGBTI ideology or run the risk of being severely punished and even losing their careers.”
Andrea Williams, Executive Director of the Christian Legal Center, said: “The regulatory bodies are creating an oppressive environment for teachers, which cools the atmosphere and hinders the expression of the Christian faith in the schools and any alternative or balanced point of view to the LGBTQI+ ideology.”
The Reverend Calvin Robinson, commentator on the national problem said “ we really live in an upside down world, where to be a Christian in a Christian institution is a offense punishable with dismissal (. . . ). Glawdys is being persecuted for her faith. Not only did the school fire her but it reported her to the Teaching Regulation Agency and considered her guilty of “unacceptable professional conduct.” We already knew it. Now, officially, it’s not professional to be Christian in a school of the Anglican Church.”
Robinson broadened his analysis: “The Church of England should be rejecting the gender theory and the queer theory, anti-Christian, Marxist ideologies. The school should have defended Glawdys’ position before the Agency not bow down to it. Instead the CofE school has even decided to go beyond the Government’s guidelines by fostering these harmful ideologies among children through a new plan of studies of the RSE. It seems that CofE’s Education Department is so captured by the liberals as is the Bishops’ chamber.”
