David Mackereth, an experienced Christian doctor who refused to use transgender pronouns at work, was told his belief in Genesis 1:27 is not worthy of respect by the judge who presided over his Employment Tribunal case in early October.
The judge ruled that: ‘Lack of belief in transgenderism and conscientious objection to transgenderism … are incompatible with human dignity and conflict with the fundamental rights of others.’ He continued: ‘In so far as those beliefs form part of [Mackereth’s] wider faith, his wider faith also does not satisfy [the requirement of being worthy of respect in a democratic society, not incompatible with human dignity and not in conflict with the fundamental rights of others.]’
The ruling puts a belief in the Bible on a par with racist and neo-Nazi ideologies which have been held to be ‘not worthy of respect in democratic society’ in earlier judicial decisions.