A tribunal in the UK has given a partial win to a teacher and pastor who warned parents against taking children to the LGBT pride march.
A 55 year old pastor and part time caretaker in a primary school in the United Kingdom was given partial victory by a British tribunal after he claimed he was forced by his former employer to resign after condemning the LGBT agenda. In a tweet, Pastor Keith Waters, who worked part time as a caretaker at the Isle of Ely primary school in 2019 took to Twitter to warn that Christian parents "should not support or attend" pride month events.
"A reminder that Christians should not suport or attend LGBTQ 'Pride Month' events held in June," the pastor wrote on Twitter on June 1, 2019. "They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Christian faith and morals. They are especially harmful for children."
Waters claims that he experienced "indirect discrimination" from the school as a result of his tweet. In January, the Cambridge Employment Tribunal heard Waters' discrimination case and issued a ruling on April 22, the Christian Post reported. The British tribunal dismissed the pastor's claims of "direct discrimination" and "constructive dismissal" but upheld his claim of "indirect discrimination in the imposition of the disciplinary sanction."
However, the British tribunal found that the disciplinary action granted upon Waters "post dates the resignation so cannot be the reason why the claimant resigned." The judges claimed that it was "highly relevant" that Waters made the tweet outside of work on his personal Twitter account as part of his role as a Christian minister. The judges pointed out that it was a different matter when rules that applied during work were to be extended to one's private life away from work.
The British tribunal decided that the restriction of Waters' freedom of speech and religion must be practiced "with some exercise of caution and only in the clearest cases where the rights of others are being damaged should the school intervene to prevent the claimant from preaching."
The ruling also said that Waters was "entitled" to have is own views on sexual relationships even if it may "conflict with the fundamental rights of others." It also recognized that some "aspects of Christianity...could conflict with other religions." The tribunal decided that Waters' Christian beliefs are protected under the Equality Act 2010.
In a statement published by Christian Concern, Waters said, "I am relieved and pleased with the outcome. This is a victory, not just for me, but for Christian evangelical leaders across the country."
Waters explained that he took legal action against his employer because what occurred to him "goes to the heart of what it means to be free to preach the gospel in the UK" and that he believed that the issues raised by his case were greater than just what had occurred to him, saying it was "the right thing to do."
Waters lamented that in his 37 years of working, he had not experienced being "treated in such a heartless and hostile way." The Christian pastor affirmed his stance on the LGBT agenda, underscoring the importance of why pastors must "'raise red flags' where children may be at risk." He argued that attendees of pride month events are "being exposed to obscenities" that are "self-evidently harmful for children."
