Judges back Christian student who said gay marriage was a sin
A CHRISTIAN social work student was wrongly thrown out of his university over social media posts that criticised homosexuality, appeal judges ruled yesterday.
in a landmark victory for the right of Christians to express traditionalist views, they condemned the University of sheffield for imposing a ‘blanket ban’ on the opinion that homosexual behaviour is a sin.
Lord Justice irwin, Lord Justice haddon- Cave and sir Jack Beatson said that if social workers could not say homosexuality is a sin, nor could other Christians in professional roles such as teachers, paramedics, therapists and psychologists.
the Appeal Court decision in favour of Felix ngole, 41, is the first major victory for evangelical Christians after a decade of rulings against those who express traditionalist views. in 2015 Mr ngole, who was on a two-year social work course at sheffield, responded on Facebook to a Us news story about same-sex marriage by posting that homosexuality and gay marriage are sins ‘whether we accept it or not’.
Another student complained anonymously and Mr ngole was accused of holding views that broke professional social work rules. After a series of hearings, he was thrown off the course.
the judges said the university had confused ‘expression of religious views with the notion of discrimination’. Both sides accepted that Mr ngole had not and would not discriminate against anyone, the judges added.
they called the university’s penalty extreme, adding that: ‘ A blanket ban on the freedom of expression of those who may be called traditional believers cannot be proportionate.’
Mr ngole, a father of three from Barnsley, said: ‘this is great news for everyone who cares about freedom of speech. As Christians, we are called to serve others and to care for everyone, yet publicly and privately we must also be free to express our beliefs.’
the case will go back to a fresh ‘fitness to practise’ hearing. the university said: ‘ For students studying on courses that lead to professional registration, we have a responsibility to look at how any concerns raised could impact on a student’s fitness to practise.’