A Church of England chaplain was branded a ‘risk to children’ by his diocese after he defended the right to question school LBGT policies during a sermon, it has emerged.
Rev. Dr Bernard Randall, 49, is now suing the Bishop of Derby and Trent College over alleged religious discrimination in a case which is due to begin today at East Midlands Employment Tribunal in Nottingham.
‘Competing ideologies’ was the school sermon delivered by the Rev. Randall to students at Trent College, an independent school in Nottingham. The chaplain, who had worked at the school for four years before the sermon incident, had decided to speak on the subject after pupils voiced concern and queries about why a Christian school was teaching LGBT ideology, after the school adopted Educate and Celebrate’s ethos into the curriculum.
The sermon, which presented the Christian viewpoint on identity questions, led to him being disciplined and ultimately losing his job as chaplain at the Church of England school.
Following the sermon, the chaplain was removed from the fee-paying school and was even reported to the government’s counter-terrorism watchdog, Prevent, by the school as a potentially violent religious extremist.
In the sermon, delivered in June 2019, he told students: “So, all in all, if you are at ease with “all this LGBT stuff, you’re entitled to keep to those ideas; if you are not comfortable with it, for the various especially religious reasons, you should not feel required to change”.
“Whichever side of this conflict of ideas you come down on, or even if you are unsure of some of it, the most important thing is to remember that loving your neighbour as yourself does not mean agreeing with everything he or she says; it means that when we have these discussions there is no excuse for personal attacks or abusive language,” he told students at the school.
During the sermon, he also highlighted the Christian viewpoint of marriage being between a man and a woman, as well as the belief that sex belongs only within marriage, explaining to students that they are entitled to hold such views, even if they are counter-cultural. He stated:
“So it is perfectly legitimate to think that marriage should only properly be understood as being a lifelong exclusive union of a man and a woman; indeed, that definition is written into English law.
“You may perfectly properly believe that, as an ideal, sexual activity belongs only within such marriage, and that therefore another kind is morally problematic. That is the position of all the major faith groups – though note that it doesn’t apply only to same-sex couples. And it is a belief based, not only on scripture, but on a highly positive view of marriage as the building block of a society where people of all kinds flourish, and on recognizing that there are many positive things in life more important than sex, if only we’d let them be.
“This viewpoint is recognized by many people as extremely liberating. And it’s an ethical position which could also be arrived at independently of any religious text, I think”.
“By all means discuss, have a reasoned debate about beliefs, but while it’s OK to try and persuade each other, no one should be told they must accept an ideology,” he also told students.
On gender ideology, he declared: “You should no more be told you have to accept LGBT ideology, than you should be told you must be in favour of Brexit, or must be Muslim – to both of which I’m sure most of you would quite rightly object”.
He also said that students were entitled to believe “that human beings are indeed male and female, that your sex can’t be changed, that although the two sexes have most things in common, there are some real, biologically based, differences between them overall”.
He is now seeking £120,000 in damages at the employment tribunal starting today. Rev Randall, a graduate of Oxford University and former chaplain of Christ’s College, Cambridge, said that he had expected support from his diocese, run by the Bishop of Derby, especially because his sermon accurately presented the Church of England’s teachings.
He was therefore shocked when he found out his diocese had launched its own investigation and carried out a risk assessment which concluded he posed a “moderate” risk, and might cause children “anxiety” if they came to him to talk about “a sexuality or relationship issue”.
It is understood that he is seeking damages, including for lost earnings and hurt feelings from the school and Bishop of Derby, the Rt Rev Libby Lane. He will also ask for reinstatement to his post at the school.
The Diocese of Derby said in a statement: “Mr Randall has never been an employee of the diocese and the licence he held was as a result of his employment by Trent College. The Bishop of Derby is saddened that Mr Randall is bringing these grievances and has tried to ensure pastoral care for him.
“Given that he has started legal processes against the Diocese and the Bishop of Derby, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
Bernard’s case is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre. Andrea Williams, Chief Executive, said the case was ‘extraordinary’, stating: “The Church of England’s wholesale misuse of safeguarding to suggest that Bernard is a risk to children is one of them most distasteful and objectionable elements of this extraordinary case.”
Rev. Randall has received widespread public backing for his stance that pupils had the right to disagree with ‘woke’ dogma.
Campaigners have described his dismissal as ‘scandalous’ and said schools should teach children ‘how to think, not what to think’.