Religious freedom is a right, for sure. So how, then, is this kid getting kicked out of school for expressing his beliefs?
Well, apparently, his beliefs run contrary to the narrative and belief of school and possibly national officials.
To be clear, this is not happening in America, where religious freedom is a constitutional right. However, it’s not like it’s happening in some third-world country run by a dictator. It’s happening in Canada.
As The Epoch Times reported on Wednesday, Josh Alexander, a sixteen-year-old at St. Joseph’s Catholic High School in Renfrew, Ontario, was told that he could not return to the school grounds or his classes.
Why? Well, because he’s a catholic who believes that God created only two genders in the human race. And apparently, that belief is “detrimental to the physical and mental well-being” of his transgender peers.
Now, to be clear, it’s not like Alexander has been bullying his peers or harassing them. Instead, he’s just made it clear throughout his time at the school that he doesn’t believe some transgender habits should be allowed. You know, things like transgender students being allowed to use the girl’s locker room at school.
When the school made this possible last year, Alexander organized a protest against the change. Naturally, when asked about his beliefs or the controversy about the whole thing, he’s spoken his mind and clarified that there are only two genders, male and female and that it.
Shortly after the protest is when he first became a target for school officials. He was suspended from attending classes for “bullying.” But the principal didn’t think Alexander should be allowed back at school when that suspension was up in January. So, he extended that suspension until the end of the school year.
And the school official warned that Alexander might not be able to return next year, either.
Naturally, Alexander, his parents, and his lawyers aren’t exactly thrilled at this. And so they are seeking to fight the matter before an Ontario human rights tribunal, claiming that this constitutes religious discrimination.
As Alexander wisely said, “Offence is obviously defined by the offended. I expressed my religious beliefs in class and it spiraled out of control. Not everybody’s going to like that.” But as he correctly stated, that doesn’t make him a bully or mean he’s harassing other kids.
“They express their beliefs and I express mine. Mine obviously don’t fit the narrative.”
As his lawyer explains, Alexander isn’t even seeking out his transgender peers to talk about his beliefs, and certainly not to make fun of them or call them names. But when the topic comes up, and it’s bound to in today’s society, he speaks honestly.
Now, what is surprising to me is that this isn’t some radically woke liberal school or something. As its name implies, it’s a Catholic school. And Catholics, as Christians, typically believe in the Word of God as truth. And as you likely know, the Bible says quite plainly that there are only two genders and gives rather specific guidelines as to what healthy sexual relationships are supposed to look like.
You would think that this Catholic school would, therefore, back those ideas.
Hell, the Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, has even put out guidelines for Catholic educators that do just that, instructing educators on how to deal with transgender students. And it’s not to empower them by discriminating against their own beliefs.
But, as I mentioned before, this is Canada. And while it used to be called our sister country, under the leadership of leftist liberal Justin Trudeau, it’s quickly become something altogether different.
You might remember that, under Trudeau, COVID and its pandemic meant a near nationwide shutdown. He also mandated vaccines. And now, he’s taken the citizens’ right to own firearms. Maybe, it is a dictator-led country after all.
But it wasn’t created to be that way. And it’s those founding laws that Alexander and religious freedoms are clinging to.
