Christian teacher awarded $650k after refusing to use ‘preferred pronouns’

A Christian teacher in the US has been awarded $650,000 after he was forced to resign for refusing to use the ‘preferred names and pronouns’ of gender-confused pupils.

John Kluge had worked as a music teacher at Brownsburg High School, Indiana, for four years when its corporation introduced a policy requiring gender-confused pupils to receive “affirmation of their preferred identity” and warning teachers they could be disciplined for using “the wrong name/pronoun”. Kluge was initially allowed to refer to all pupils by their surnames, but this was later reversed and he resigned in 2018.

Last year, an appeal court ruled that a jury should hear the case in light of a Supreme Court ruling in favour of stronger protections for religious employees, but the school opted to settle the case instead. As part of the settlement, the school district will pay Kluge $650,000 and train its senior staff on religious liberty.

‘Illegal and expensive’

Alliance Defending Freedom’s David Cortman, the religious liberty group which supported the case, said: “After almost five and a half years, common sense has prevailed at Brownsburg.

“This settlement confirms what the law has always said: Public schools cannot force teachers to violate their religious beliefs. Title VII requires employers to accommodate their employees’ religious beliefs and practices. When they fail to do so—or worse, announce that they will grant no religious accommodations, as Brownsburg did—they can be held accountable.

“We hope this settlement shows teachers that they do not have to bow the knee to ideological mandates that violate their religious beliefs. And schools should learn that refusing to accommodate religious employees can be illegal and expensive.”

Chaplain

In Texas, a minister has also reached a favourable settlement after he was fired as a volunteer chaplain for posting on social media about his views on biological reality.

Andrew Fox had served as lead chaplain at Austin Fire Department (AFD) for eight years before he was ousted after an employee told its LGBT liaison about Fox’s personal blog post, which stated that men should not compete on women’s sports teams.

Austin City has now paid him damages, and AFD Chief Joel Baker wrote him a letter thanking him for his service.

Baker stated: “The volunteer chaplain program, which you helped establish, is a vital part of our wellness mission to support the medical, psychological and fitness needs of AFD members. I appreciate that the chaplain program serves AFD members best when the program is inclusive of all faiths and viewpoints, while respecting the perspectives of everyone involved in the program.”

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