Church of England: Let Children 'Explore Gender Identity'
11-14-2017
The Church of England says young children at its schools should be allowed to choose to wear a tutu, tiara and heels, rather than a helmet, tool belt or superhero cape "without expectation or comment."
The church issued the directive to its 4,700 schools in an updated guide on "Challenging Homophobic Bullying."
The guide says children should be allowed to "explore the possibilities of who they might be," including gender identity.
And it says Christian teaching should not be used to make children feel ashamed of who they are.
Evangelist Franklin Graham tweeted, "I'm against bullying of any kind, but children should be taught God's truth. God 'created them male and female' (
)" and "The Church of England should not give in to the sinful, destructive, anti-God agenda of the LGBTQ—they should stand with God's Word."
The Church of England should not give in to the sinful, destructive, anti-God agenda of the LGBTQ—they should stand with God's Word. https://t.co/8qTtSxJOar
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) November 14, 2017
The church paper on homophobic bullying was first published three years ago, but has now being updated to cover "transphobic" and "biphobic" bullying.
The Church of England says it still follows biblical teaching on gay sex being sinful and that marriage is between one man and one woman.
Conservative leaders in England like Andrea Minichiello Williams of Christian Concern also responded to the directive - according to the UK's Daily Mail - saying while the church should stand against bullying it should not use that as a reason to support an agenda that runs counter to the Church's teaching.
