Christian school chaplain wins settlement after firing over LGBTQ sermon
A school chaplain in the United Kingdom who was fired and blacklisted after preaching a sermon on LGBTQ issues has reached a confidential settlement with his former employer, ending a seven-year legal battle.
The Rev. Bernard Randall, an ordained Church of England minister, worked for five years as chaplain at Trent College, an independent school for K-12 students in Derbyshire, England. In 2018, Randall grew concerned when the school partnered with Educate and Celebrate, an outside group whose stated goal was to "smash heteronormativity" and embed queer theory in school culture. The group has since dissolved.
"I objected to [it] at the time it started, and tried to discuss it with the senior leadership, [but] they weren't interested," Randall told Fox News Digital.
The following year, a student asked Randall why pupils were required to accept LGBTQ ideology at a Christian school. Randall said that question, along with similar concerns raised by other students and staff, prompted him to deliver a sermon on freedom of belief and conscience.
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In his chapel address, Randall told his young students they were entitled to hold traditional Christian beliefs on marriage and biological sex, while emphasizing that they must show respect to those with whom they disagree.
Days later, school administrators summoned Randall to a meeting, interrogated him, suspended him and launched an investigation. He was also reported to local law enforcement and Prevent, the U.K. government's counterterrorism program. Prevent ultimately determined he did not pose a terrorist threat.
In addition, the Diocese of Derby blacklisted Randall as a safeguarding risk to children.
Trent College eventually fired Randall for gross misconduct. He was reinstated on appeal, but under strict conditions that restricted his sermon topics and required prior administrative approval for chapel content. Furloughed during the pandemic, Randall was ultimately made redundant, or laid off, on Dec. 31, 2020.
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Randall challenged his dismissal with the support of the Christian Legal Centre. Following an initial employment tribunal ruling against him, the Employment Appeal Tribunal set aside the judgment, ordered a full retrial and required Trent College to pay £20,000 in costs. Shortly thereafter, Randall and Trent College reached a confidential settlement.
After seven years being barred from ministry, an independent Church of England review conducted by the Diocese of London finally cleared Randall of all safeguarding allegations, ruling the concerns were "unsubstantiated" and finding no evidence of harm.
In a statement shared by his legal team, Randall said he was relieved by the ruling but said that nothing could replace the seven years he's lost from being shut out of ministry.
"I encouraged pupils to think, to debate, and to love their neighbors whatever they believed. No minister, teacher or chaplain should be punished for upholding Christian teaching in a Christian setting," Randall said.
Randall told Fox News Digital he was deeply troubled by the Church of England’s handling of his case, noting that officials spent years disciplining him for teaching orthodox church doctrine.
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"The people who should support you most are the ones doing you harm," Randall said.
He added that standing up for freedom of speech and belief was worth the personal toll. "It's as Jesus said, what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul? And I sort of feel I'm in that position that it matters to stand up and be counted and tell the truth. And that was more important than just an easy, comfortable life."
Randall also voiced broader concerns about the future of free speech in the United Kingdom.
"Oh, I do worry," he told Fox News Digital. "There are groups that are fighting back, and we're not going to let them roll over us. But there are times when I wish we had the First Amendment."
"I think most people in Britain still value free speech," he added. "It used to be in this country, when somebody said something that we thought was a bit strange or odd, [we'd say], 'Oh well, it's a free country.' I don't hear people saying that anymore."
Vice President JD Vance criticized growing restrictions on speech in the U.K. while visiting Munich last year. The U.S. State Department has also raised concerns over the prosecution of peaceful religious expression under British buffer zone laws.
"I know that our American cousins and the people in the White House are looking at Britain and raising the question of free speech, and in Europe too as well," Randall continued. "That has to be a good thing because it doesn't hurt to have our friends from across the Atlantic offer a bit of advice about why it matters that free speech is so important and freedom of conscience, that these things really, really matter. So yes, I'm worried, but I'm not without hope."
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While Randall has completed mandatory safeguarding training and is eligible to return to public ministry, he is waiting for the bishop of Derby, Libby Lane, to grant him permission to officiate, according to The Christian Legal Centre.
Fox News Digital reached out to Trent College for comment.
A spokesperson for the Diocese of Derby told Fox News Digital, "The Diocese is happy to continue supporting Dr Randall’s potential return to ministry as he decides whether and where to apply for a role. Over the past few months, through our ongoing contact with him, he has been signposted to current vacancies in the Diocese of Derby, the Church of England’s 'Pathways' recruitment portal, and to the Church’s Clergy Transitions Service which has confirmed that they are also available to provide further assistance."
Fox News' Jon Brown contributed to this report.