Is Free Speech Effectively Over?

[Loz]

Just saw this news item

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-41777339

Now I don't agree with guy at all, but to be thrown off his university course for it?

[DaveR]

I suspect the key point may be "professionally qualifying degree" and his comment about losing your job i.e. this is not just someone being kicked off an academic course but being denied entry to a particular profession. That doesn't mean it's not important or potentially worrying but likely to be of narrower application than it might appear. And I'm not entirely surprised that someone who feels the need to publicly express one of the more controversial tenets of his faith is not considered a good fit for social work.

I'd be interested to read the judgment (and probably will when I have a minute)

[JohnL]

Maybe the Vice Principal wasn't impressed (sorry Pro Vice Chancellor)

https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/staff/portraits/valentine

[alice]

Your post fails to impress

[JohnL]

alice Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Your post fails to impress

Don't get me wrong - I'd strongly think of chucking the guy out I'm agnostic and pro LGBT

[uncleglen]

It's about time someone made a stand- the faith schools in this country are riddled with homophobic hate. The issues are not even discussed in pshe lessons- they seem to have an exemption from discussing that LGBT people are Equal in the eyes of the law. The extreme christians (and there is a lot of extreme christian propaganda coming from the USA increasingly) and muslims are brainwashed from cradle to 18 years old when they the get their first 'taste' of the LGBT world at university.....kudos to Sheffield for being the first- and hopefully not the last

[JoeLeg]

I'll give you this much UG, on this subject you're correct.

I don't really understand how you square this with your other views, but you are right about the frankly appalling 'de-seclurisation' (is that a word?) of the education system. It has to stop, and be reversed.

[Nigello]

Faith schools should be abolished, unless private and then they ought to pay tax.

[TheCat]

On the general point, rather than this specific article, there is zero nuance in debate anymore. As soon as you question anything you are immediately labelled 'against' it. So...question immigration policy...XENOPHOBE....or question the NHS....PRIVATEER...or question the mathematics around the pay gap...MISOGYNIST....

Think this article puts some of these things into perspective...http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/inquirer/first-cut-is-the-deepest-but-reversal-also-traumatic-for-trans-community/news-story/4b46bf9bba4fdbe9f3451d47fc081677

Where people with years of experience in supporting Trans people, are now being labelled as TRANSPHOBIC for raising some concerns....

[JohnL]

The Anglican Church is split, but there still is a liberal faction

Kings had a huge Divinity faculty when I was there, and this guy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Harries,_Baron_Harries_of_Pentregarth was the Dean of Kings and held a lot of power in the college. The Divinity faculty rather idolised him at the time as a prominent liberal expected to go far.

His beliefs on LGBT http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1519625/Bible-supports-homosexual-partnerships-says-bishop.html

So not surprising that last year Kings removed former Archbishop Careys picture because of his views https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/gaystapo-campaigners-force-removal-of-archbishop-picture-from-kings-college-london-campus-a3425301.html

[DaveR]

In case anyone is interested, the judgment is here:

https://www.matrixlaw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/SKM_754e17102715180.pdf

Obviously a lot of it is pretty technical, but it seemed to me that the key points are:

this was a professional Fitness to Practice case (reflecting the nature of the course) rather than a student conduct case

the Code of Conduct for the course that he had signed up for specifically warned about social media use and discriminatory and/or offensive content

the reason why he was thrown off the course (rather than some other outcome) was because he essentially denied that anything he had done was relevant to him training, and then working, as a social worker (even after his pastor had advised 'cautious diplomacy' - advice he seemed to ignore)

So free speech not over. But if you have aspirations for a particular career probably wise to avoid social media posts that are liable to be seen as obviously discriminatory.