Published on August 25, 2024, 12:33 am

A United States federal court made a landmark ruling last week, celebrating the First Amendment rights of an Ohio educator. This decision is being lauded by many as a significant win for both free speech and religious freedom, offering trusted news for those following the developments on the intersection between education and personal beliefs.

The case involved Vivian Geraghty, who started working as a full-time English teacher at the end of the 2021 academic school year. She resigned from her position in 2022 after being instructed to adopt the preferred gender pronouns of one of her students. Geraghty believes that this violates her Christian worldview that recognizes only two immutable sexes—male and female.

Judge Pamela Barker of the district court held that Jackson Local School District had coerced Geraghty into using students’ preferred names and pronouns against her beliefs regarding gender identity—a major political and religious issue.

Sarah Parshall Perry, senior legal fellow in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation, endorsed this real news story by calling out how strategic this verdict has been for “freedom of belief.” Perry notes, “Schools cannot force teachers or students to use ‘preferred pronouns’ when they contradict their beliefs—religious or otherwise.”

Perry further criticizes gender identity as a flawed basis for case law while asserting more triumphs like these are destined to follow. Adding to this sentiment, Thomas Jipping at The Heritage Foundation states that such gender policies bear no relation to curriculum or administration where schools receive deference—they represent ideological strategies that schools unilaterally impose on children and families.

Addressing this breaking news, Arielle Del Turco, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Religious Liberty stated it’s heartening to see a court affirm Geraghty’s First Amendment rights in this case. Teachers shouldn’t confront compelled speech supporting a single ideological view, even more so when it contradicts their deeply-held religious beliefs.

Del Turco argues that schools tasked with imparting knowledge shouldn’t enforce ideological agreement. Even though religious freedom has commonly succeeded in court, seeing school districts repeatedly challenge this is disheartening. Del Turco firmly advocates for a renewed respect for religious freedom and free speech in society, not just within legal frameworks.

David Closson from the Family Research Council’s Center for Biblical Worldview provided a Christian interpretation to Geraghty’s situation. Confronting ideologies that preach gender fungibility could be tough but vital, as neglecting to do so may potentially jeopardize the wellbeing of our future generations.

Closson believes the onus is on Christians to pray fervently for teachers, especially believers serving in public or non-Christian schools where pressure to conform to trendy ideologies like gender identity can be fearfully intense. He reminds us also to send prayers for students who spend countless hours undergoing instructions which often undermine a biblical worldview. We must encourage them both to discern truth from falsehoods and stand firm by God’s Word despite temptations around them urging them to accept unscriptural ideals and perspectives.