A Christian teacher facing allegations ranging from ‘misgendering’ a pupil and calling Muhammad a ‘false prophet’ could lose his career.
In January, 32-year-old Joshua Sutcliffe, appeared before a teachers’ disciplinary panel and denied the charges. Sutcliffe, who is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, was dismissed in 2017 from Cherwell school after refusing to use a pupil’s preferred pronoun in breach of its equality policy – despite having an exemplary teaching record.
Sutcliffe said he avoided using gender specific pronouns to accommodate the pupil’s needs and his own Bible-based beliefs that humans are born male or female. He denied misgendering anyone and his subsequent action for constructive dismissal and discrimination was settled out of court.
Social justice, political differences & the church
At a recent event, I was accosted by a younger Christian who spoke to me of the challenge of being …