Teachers should not be allowed to evangelise in pupil’s homes– Olive Jones case

The National Secular Society has spoken out in support of the right of the employers of teachers working in pupils’ homes to require them not to evangelise.

Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society said: “It is no more appropriate for a teacher to pray for pupils captive in their own home than it would be to suggest the solution was to vote for particular party at the next election. It is simply unprofessional. It is perfectly reasonable of employers to proscribe such behaviour and for them to have their instructions enforced.

“This case has remarkable similarities to the North Somerset nurse Caroline Petrie evangelizing in a patient’s home - and indeed they know each other. What is rarely said is that both Jones and Petrie had already been asked by their employers not to do this but did so again regardless, at least once and probably more often.

“This is not a question of religious freedom. If teachers want to pray for those in their care there is nothing to stop them doing it in their own homes or places of worship. Nor are Christians being frozen out, indeed they are trying to freeze out others. I asked one of the Christian lawyers supporting Nurse Petrie if it would have been acceptable if the nurse had suggested Muslim or Jewish prayers. The answer was an unequivocal “no” – on the basis that “this is a Christian country”.

“In both cases there had been a complaint, in Petrie’s case by another Christian sensibly realising the inappropriateness of what happened in her own home and the embarrassment this could have caused.

“Nor is it anything to do with the much-maligned equality agenda; that is just propaganda. Many Christian lawyers object to equality legislation because it requires everyone to follow the law equally, rather than give Christians privileges or exemptions denied to others - such as allowing them to discriminate against homosexuals. Indeed, the Christian Legal Centre may be preparing the ground for making a special case for Olive Jones, according to one report: “although Mrs Jones was not on a contract and had occasionally taken time out from her teaching duties during term time, the Centre would argue that she had effectively worked continuously for the unit for nearly five years and should have had some protection under employment law.’”