Teacher dismissed for 'hate speech' after being encouraged to share his Christian beliefs
A teacher in Wales, Ben Dybowski, was encouraged to express his Christian beliefs at a seminar and was subsequently fired for "hate speech", according to the Daily Mail. The school claims that there is no evidence that his assignment was ended on the basis of his religious beliefs. The teacher said that he was prompted to share his opinions during a mandatory training session organised by the charity Diverse Cymru to instruct teachers on "workforce diversity practice, unconscious bias and gender awareness." He later commented that: "We were told it was a safe space and encouraged to speak freely."
The Daily Mail reported how Ben Dybowski, 55, was dismissed from The Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales school near Cardiff after sharing his Christian beliefs at a seminar, accused of "hate speech". Policy manager Ele Hicks, a “bisexual activist” and Stonewall member, delivered the training.
During the diversity seminar run by Diverse Cymru, Ben Dybowski was encouraged to offer his views on diversity and inclusion. He told the group that he believed life began at conception, marriage should be between a man and a woman and that he opposed the stoning of men for homosexuality under some aspects of Sharīʿa law. He then asked if his views would be considered discriminatory. The following day Dybowski was dismissed from The Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales High School.
In addition to being "an affront to freedom of speech and freedom of thought," Mr Dybowski saw his dismissal as an attack on Christianity. Daily Mail quotes him commenting on the seminar: "We were told it was a safe space and encouraged to speak freely."
Diverse Cymru was unable to help Dybowski personally after he turned to the charity for support for his dismissal. The teacher claims that he did not share his views with pupils and always respected those with different opinions.
However, a number of accusations have been raised against Mr Dybwoski and brought forward in regard to his dismissal. The Chair of Governors, Kathryn Bates, stated: "A number of staff witnesses provided accounts from the training session that focused on equality and diversity which confirm Mr Dybowski shared a number of opinions using highly charged language that caused offence." As part of the investigation, other evidence included Mr Dybowski questioning the school’s Learning Resource Centre Manager as to why there was not a copy of Mein Kampf in the school library, for the purposes of balance; email correspondence between Mr Dybowski and a member of staff seeking to establish a discussion group, which covered a range of inappropriate topics given his role at the school, and confirming that he has shared his views with some of these students. The school claims: “In relation to claims of discrimination, the recommendations from the fact-finding exercise were that there was no evidence to suggest Mr Dybowski’s assignment was ended on the basis of his religious beliefs. Rather, there is clear evidence to demonstrate that the decision was based on his unwillingness to comply with the legal requirements of the Equality Act, 2010; the school’s ethos and precepts, as underpinned by our gospel values of love, acceptance, responsibility and forgiveness; and the Code of Practice for all Education Workforce Council (Wales) registrants."
Source: Daily Mail, Nation.Cymru