A Devout Christian Teacher Jailed for Refusing to Use His Student's Preferred Pronouns

Photo byKindel Media /pexels

When Enoch Burke, a devout Christian teacher, refused to use a student’s preferred pronouns, the school took action against him by suspending him. However, when Mr. Burke ignored the order and continued teaching, the schoolteacher was arrested and could miss Christmas as he would be behind bars. Mr. Burke’s ordeal started when he encountered one of his students last September, a student who was transitioning and therefore demanded to be addressed in the gender-neutral pronoun of “they.” Instead, Mr. Burke continued to use “he” when addressing the student.

Although the widely reported incident occurred in Ireland, some sections of the media report that the schoolteacher was not arrested for refusing to use a gender-neutral pronoun. While that might be the technical reason for the arrest, the reason why the school suspended him or the reasons for Mr. Burke’s troubles seem to be ignored.

However, while that might be the case, Mr. Burke’s sentencing judge, Justice Michael Quin, jailed him for contempt of court. Furthermore, the judge gave Mr. Burke an indefinite prison term which can only be ended if Mr. Burke agrees to obey the terms of the injunction, which were termed as “the prevention of disruption at the school.” Nevertheless, Mr. Burke tried to defend himself by saying to the judge,

“I am not a thief, a drug dealer or a murderer but I am here today because I said I would not call a boy a girl. Transgenderism is against my Christian belief. It is contrary to the scriptures, contrary to the ethos of the Church of Ireland and of my school. It is insanity that I will be led from this courtroom to a place of incarceration, but I will not give up my Christian beliefs.”

Enoch Burke leaving for court

Although Ireland is a Christian country where 82% of Irish citizens practice Christianity, the country had its first gay prime minister in 2017. Prime minister Leo Varadkar was a family doctor turned politician who came out in 2015. Moreover, Mr. Varadkar broke barriers as he was not only Ireland’s first gay prime minister but also Ireland’s first prime minister from an immigrant Indian background.

As can be imagined, the schoolteacher’s parents protested, claiming their son was persecuted for his beliefs. However, even though the judge denied Mr. Burke was not jailed for his beliefs, it’s apparent that it was Mr. Burke’s refusal to use the gender-neutral pronoun that triggered the whole ordeal and the subsequent arrest.

At a time when the Cambridge English dictionary’s definition of a woman is updated to “ an adult who lives and identifies as female though they may have been said to have a different gender at birth,” perhaps Mr. Burke’s arrest signifies that the refusal of using a person’s preferred pronouns may come with consequences.