Originally published in Christian Concern
An employment tribunal will hear the case of a Christian social media influencer and education behavioural specialist who was sacked by a North London Catholic school for supporting Biblical marriage on Instagram in her own time.
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Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, Gozen Soydag, 37, from Enfield, has launched legal action against St Anne’s Catholic High School for Girls for wrongful dismissal, harassment, discrimination and breaches of her human rights on the grounds of her Christian beliefs.
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Full employment tribunal hearing
Soydag will say that her social media accounts and Christian beliefs were censored by the school before she was sacked on her birthday and ordered to leave the school premises without pay.
Her Instagram accounts have over 30 000 followers and include @wifeinthewaiting which is described as: “a God centred ministry that encourages, empowers and equips women, who desire to be married, to position in purpose, dedicated specifically to celebrating the institution of marriage and the traditional nuclear family.”
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Motivational quotes posted on the page, include: “What Jesus did for us is greater than what anyone did to us”, and “My husband doesn’t complete me, Jesus does!”
On her Lady Gozen page, which is a general Christian ministry page, she had posts, for example, from Hollywood actress, Audrey Hepburn which said: “The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mode, but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul.”
Despite taking down posts which she was told had caused “offence” to an anonymous complainant, Soydag was told that her marriage beliefs were “incompatible with the school’s ethos”. However, the school’s mission statement and ethos web page states: “Our school motto is taken from the book of Micah 6:8 ‘Act justly, love tenderly and walk humbly with your God’ and was chosen by the staff as it reflects the character of our school. This scripture verse reminds us that in our lives we should aspire to treat others fairly, be ready to show forgiveness and compassion and acknowledge our need for God’s help and grace in everything we do.”
Furthermore, the web page states: “We strive to follow the teaching and example of Jesus and to help our young people discern God’s call so they use their gifts and talents to live by Gospel values.”
It adds: “The school is conducted as a Catholic school in accordance with the Canon Law and the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, and in accordance with the Trust Deed of the Archdiocese of Westminster.”
Before being dismissed, Soydag asked what exactly she had done wrong and was simply told by headteacher Emma Loveland that she (Emma) could not have: “Someone with that mindset working the school”.
‘Our students need you, I need you!’
After starting a career in law and seeing young people falling into a life of crime, Soydag was motivated to work in education to help improve the life chances of young Londoners.
Beginning work as a pastoral manager for Year 10 students at St Anne’s in September 2022, she believed she was working for a school that was committed to the Christian faith as, for example, it had Bible verses and crosses in every room.
When she was offered the job, Headteacher Emma Loveland said in an email to her: “I cannot tell you how much I feel you should be at St. Anne’s next year. Our students need you, I need you!”
Despite being told she was doing an “outstanding” job, however, without warning on February 9 2023, Soydag was summoned to a meeting with the school’s assistant deputy head, Jo Saunders.
During the meeting she was told that elements of her online social media activity had been brought to the school’s attention. At no point was she asked or given the opportunity to explain the purpose of her @wifeinthewaiting account.
One video Soydag had shared on Instagram, which she was told was of particular concern, involved a woman wearing Muslim attire talking about her happiness of living in submission to her husband. On occasion Soydag would post videos on the theme of marriage and relationships, not because she agreed with the entirety of what she posted, but to generate debate.
The assistant deputy head told Soydag that this video was concerning because, if the same statements were made by a man, they would be deemed “misogynistic”.
Other beliefs expressed on her Instagram accounts, included: the holiness of marriage and the importance of the traditional nuclear family. The importance of preserving purity for marriage and not co-habiting before marriage, and the Biblical belief from Ephesians Chapter 5, which says wives should “submit to their husbands as to the Lord”.
The meeting concluded with Soydag being told for the first time that all employees’ social media accounts had to be kept private and must not be accessible to the public. She was also told to take down the video, which had generated the initial concern, which she did immediately.
Censored
A fortnight later, however, Soydag was summoned to another meeting where she was told that complaints had been made about other content on her social media pages. One parent reportedly strongly disagreed with the Christian beliefs expressed.
Given an ultimatum that she had 24-hours to ensure that her @wifeinthewaiting account was not visible on a Google search, Soydag tried to explain that due to Google’s functionality this would take two weeks.
The following day, Soydag told the headteacher what she had done to make her accounts less visible, but was told that her accounts were “global”, that it was “too little too late”, and the beliefs she expressed were openly criticised.
Soydag was then dismissed and told in an email that: “due to much of your extensive online profile being incompatible with the schools mission statement and ethos, and the fact that despite being asked to remove such incompatible information your profile appears to a large extent to remain unchanged”.
Told to pack up her belongings and leave the premises, Soydag, left in tears without being able to say goodbye to colleagues and students. All of this happened on her birthday.
It has transpired that, despite promising to provide one, Emma Loveland failed to finalise a written contract for Soydag before her dismissal and had therefore breached the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Taking legal action, Soydag is seeking damages for breach of contract and wrongful dismissal and a declaration under the Equality Act 2010.
“I am not going to let go what God has given me”
Launching her legal claim, Soydag, who is also a relationship coach and therapist, said: “I still do not know what I did wrong to warrant being dismissed.
“I wanted to work in the education sector and make an impact for young people. This was a Catholic school, and they knew I was a passionate woman of faith. The school’s building is in the shape of the Cross. Every classroom had a Cross and Bible verses on the walls. This was a place where I believed they accepted Jesus.
“My social media channels were about sharing hope through the Word of God, especially for women. No one who desires marriage wants a singles ministry! But that is what God gave me.
“The majority of my adult life I have worked with vulnerable people. I’ve never had a complaint against me and it has never been suggested that I am a danger to anyone.
“When I was dismissed, it was therefore a complete shock. People had always said to me about my social media accounts: ‘you are such an encouragement, good for you.’
“I tried to boost the confidence of the girls I worked with at St Anne’s, but I never referred them to my social media accounts. @wifeinthewaiting is not for 14-year-olds, but for women in their 30’s and 40’s who desire marriage and want to do it God’s way. It is about living a life of purpose whatever season you are in.
“The @wifeinthewaiting page was not about me, but about encouraging others who wanted to get married to do it in the right way. It is about purity, Godliness, and the challenge of where God is in our lives and the marriages women desire to have. It was about helping women to deal with loneliness. I wanted to be the good within social media, amongst all the bad stuff that is out there.
“The ‘king of my life’ post they were initially concerned about expressed the personal experience of a woman and her marriage. Some of my social media activity challenges people’s perspectives on marriage and is designed to engage and start discussion. I was putting forward the idea that Biblical marriage is very beautiful if done God’s way.
“I stand for the nuclear marriage and God’s blueprint for marriage. I’m not against anyone, I am for God’s blueprint for the family and believe children do best in a nuclear family.
“I want to speak up now because traditional Christian marriage in this country is being broken, trampled on, and even marginalised, and what has happened to me really highlights that.
“It is wrong to fire someone because they believe in the institution of marriage. I believe it is wrong to fire someone because their beliefs don’t align with yours. There is so much talk about diversity in the workplace, yet in this instance, my beliefs and who I am as a Christian were completely excluded.
“Christians cannot allow people to walk all over the principles that we stand for. No one has to believe what I believe. Just because I don’t believe what someone else believes doesn’t mean I can’t respect them or work with them.
“I was persecuted. If this had been anyone else with a belief as part of the ‘inclusive’ culture, I would not be sitting here, I would have been celebrated and promoted.
“When you know your future is secure in God, you don’t need to worry. It is important to speak up for truth. I am not going to let go of what God has given me and am determined to fight for justice.”
School capitulated
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said: “This is another example of schools, which on the surface have a strong Christian ethos, but appear to capitulate to secular orthodoxy when placed under pressure when told the Christian message on marriage offends.
“Gozen unashamedly loves Jesus and is a brilliant advocate for women and God’s great and beautiful plan for marriage.
“Gozen was doing a fantastic job in a tough area of London, supporting young women in a Catholic school and had had nothing but praise, until someone complained about the beliefs she expressed in her own time.
“This is another example of schools, which on the surface have a strong Christian ethos, panicking and capitulating to secular orthodoxy and the ‘offence’ of Christian marriage.
“We rob society of the true picture of marriage when we censor, suppress and dismiss what that true picture is.
“Gozen must be exonerated by the school otherwise what has happened sends a message that Christian beliefs on marriage are now barred from our schools. We will stand by her side as she pursues justice.”
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