Dear Sir,
I have recently heard about a Christian teacher who has had to resign because the A-level RS syllabus required her to teach that Joseph suffered from gender-confusion.
A number of issues arise from this. First, there is the matter of freedom of conscience; a teacher has been required to teach as fact something which is at best questionable and which goes against her belief. Next, there is the matter of how anyone managed to invent a theory about Joseph and gender-confusion. Who invented this theory anyway, and on what grounds? Another serious issue, to my mind at least, is that this seriously undermines the whole integrity of the A-level system, in that somebody’s pet idea has been required to be presented as fact. Are there any other dubious theories being similarly promoted as fact elsewhere in the A-level RS syllabus (or, for that matter, in the A-level syllabus of any other subject)?
