English court rules against Christian teacher over pronouns use

The High Court of Justice in London Thursday ruled against a Christian math teacher who challenged an order he use the pronouns preferred by a girl who identified as a boy. The judge ruled that Joshua Sutcliffe disrespected a female student when he addressed her using the pronouns associated with her sex, according to the advocacy group Christian Concern.

The group’s Christian Legal Centre is reviewing the judgement carefully, Chief Executive Andrea Williams said in a newsletter. Teachers who express long-held Christian beliefs on marriage and gender risk discipline, losing their jobs, or being banned from the profession, she said.

A government order from May 2023 prohibited Sutcliffe from addressing students by anything other than their preferred pronouns. Before issuing that prohibition, the UK’s Secretary of State for Education found that Sutcliffe had previously harmed the student by refusing to use their preferred pronouns.

Why did the judge rule against Sutcliffe and side with the government? The judge said that Sutcliffe’s conscience and beliefs as a Christian did not mean that he could avoid using students’ preferred pronouns, according to Christian Concern. After the ruling, Sutcliffe said he believed it was more harmful to agree with a confused students’ pronouns than it was to celebrate their inaccurate beliefs. He added in a social media statement that he was hoping to appeal Thursday’s verdict.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about the British government saying statistical claims about suicide rates among transgender young people are overblown.