A Christian man in the UK has had a job withdrawn after it was discovered that he believes homosexuality to be a sin which sparked worry that it may cause LGBT patients to kill themselves.
Reverend Felix Ngole, 46, in 2022 had been offered employment with NHS provider Touchstone, which provides mental health and wellbeing services to thousands of people across Yorkshire every year.
Touchstone is backed by LGBT-advocacy group, Stonewall.
However, after the healthcare provider learned of Mr Ngole’s Christian belief that homosexuality is a sin, he was called for a second interview and rejected.
Having worked as a pastor, youth worker and teacher for 20 years, Mr Ngole, of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, told the Leeds tribunal that he has helped many lesbians, gay and trans people throughout that time.
The Telegraph reports that in response to a Touchstone report which stated that Mr Ngole’s employment could lead vulnerable service users to kill themselves because of his Christian beliefs, he said: “If just two per cent of it [the report] was correct, that when people see me they might kill themselves, then, I’m telling you, the graveyards in Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster would be full.”
“I have worked with people from the gypsy community, gay and lesbian. Not long ago I worked with a trans person and I treated them as a human being.
“When I look at a person I see a human being, I don’t look under your trousers to see if you are a man or a woman,” he said.
Just under a month after offering Mr Ngole a job, his Touchstone bosses researched his background and discovered an earlier court hearing involving the University of Sheffield. On that occasion, Mr Ngole had posted on Facebook that he believed homosexuality to be ‘wicked’ and ‘sinful’.
Touchstone reportedly then decided that Mr Ngole’s stated Christian values stood opposed to their own.
Touchstone Deputy Chief Executive, Kathryn Hart expressed concern that Mr Ngole’s views on LGBT relationships and same-sex marriage “would be visible to all, and it was of serious concern to me how the Claimant’s views could potentially negatively impact the vulnerable service users”.
Mr Ngole insisted that he had never been accused of either forcing his beliefs on, or discriminating against, anyone, but Touchstone decided to call him in for another interview and job offer was withdrawn.
Pastor and preacher at a Pentecostal church in Barnsley, Mr Ngole denied he was transphobic or homophobic at the tribunal hearing. He explained that he had been a Christian from a “tender age” and held the views on gender and sex to be found in the Bible.
Mr Ngole said that during the second interview he felt like he was under “interrogation” and that having his faith questioned made him feel “uncomfortable”.
He told the tribunal that he felt his faith was “under attack,” and that many people in Britain, “professionals, judges, housewives, husbands” hold the same Christian views as himself.
The tribunal is ongoing. Mr Ngole is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre, bringing claims of discrimination, harassment, and breaches of the UK’s Equality Act against Touchstone.