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Easier for some children to ‘come out’ as gay than Christian, Stormont hears

by Anna Rees

Stormont has been told that it is easier for some children to reveal their sexuality to peers, than their faith.

The comments were part of an inquiry into Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE).

David Smyth from the Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland told the Education Committee: "We're not looking to fight a culture war where children are the casualties.

"There's so much common ground between Christians and non-Christians when it comes to the teaching of healthy relationships, consent, preventing violence against women and girls, sexualisation."

He also highlighted that children can face prejudice from their peers for expressing religious views, in a manner comparable to that faced by young people ‘coming out’ as LGBT in previous decades.

“It is much more difficult now to come out as an evangelical Christian in school than it is to come out as LGBT,” he told the committee.

Speaking to Premier, he said the comments were not aimed at eclipsing the experiences of LGBT youth who face bullying, but were based off discussions he had had with Christian school pupils.

"This is not the experience of all Christian young people or trying to play them off against young LGBT people in terms of victimhood. Some Christian young people in some schools feel that is more difficult to come out as an evangelical Christian than as gay among their friends."

Smyth told the Committee: "I do think we need to be careful not to create new secular blasphemies. Is it secular blasphemy to believe that a man cannot biologically become a woman?"

He noted that there is a “suspicion” around Christian views on sex education, and that some secular parents and teachers may believe that teaching traditional views on sex and identity amount to “brainwashing”.

Committee chair, Alliance MLA Nick Mathison, asked if he was suggesting "that there are teachers somewhere that are trying to effectively change children's minds to push an agenda of some sort".

Smyth responded by saying that he understands “State schools are not Sunday schools”, but that “good RSE is about helping young people understand and think well about relationships, sex, identity and how this plays with their own moral beliefs and values.”

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