Teacher says job offer rescinded because he's gay

Jonathan Zeng was offered a music teaching position at Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy. He accepted the job. Shortly thereafter, school administrator David Thompson called Zeng back to the office. According to Zeng, this is how the meeting went:

He explained that there was an issue weighing on his mind because of my application answers regarding my belief in Christ's unconditional love and that we as Christ's followers are to show that love to all without judgment. These responses prompted him to ask if I was a homosexual. I was completely taken aback by this and asked why that was important. He explained that it was school policy not to employ teachers who are homosexual. When I asked why, he said that it was because I would work with children and because of the sanctity of marriage.

"Cincinnati Christian School Asks Teacher if He's Gay, Fires Him" (Towelroad, thanks Tara McGinley!)

David Pescovitz is Boing Boing's co-editor/managing partner. He's also a research director at Institute for the Future. On Instagram, he's @pesco.

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Sagodjur

“…and because of the sanctity of marriage.”

So I take it the school also fires teachers who get divorced, cheat on their spouses, or live in sin with an unmarried significant other “because of the sanctity of marriage?”
- penelopejonze
  
  My Catholic grade school terminated the contracts of several teachers who remarried after divorces, so that absolutely does happen, too. And if there were any information about a teacher having an abortion or something like that, I’m sure they would have been fired as well. (Catholic priests who molested and raped children were allowed to keep their jobs, of course.)
  - Lupus_Yonderboy
    
    Long before I met and married the lovely Mrs. Yonderboy I dated a teacher at a private Catholic school. We had to keep anything we did on the semi-down-low (we were allowed to be seen together but if any of her students saw us she couldn’t answer the question “Is that your boyfriend?”) because of clauses in her contract. It was specifically stated that if she ever lived with a man before marriage that she could be fired as well. I thought that it was kind of sexy at the time, honestly.
  - BombBlastLightingWaltz
    
    My Catholic elementary school had a Brother of the “—–” order teach, he was a cruel hard alcoholic. His cheeks and couliflower nose bursting with red vines, stuck children 12 and under with a yard stick. Total ass he was and may he still rot in his grave.
    - Antinous / Moderator
      
      Not that it matters to his behavior, but you’re describing rhinophyma and rosacea, not alcoholism.
  - Palomino
    
    Well, it use to be that teachers were all female, no males allowed. And they couldn’t be married, they were all “Miss”. Once they became a “Mrs” they were terminated.
- anony
  
  I don’t know about the school in the article, so I can’t speak for it, but at a local private Christian school near me, the answer is yes. In addition to homosexuality, there are several other sex/marriage-related sins which would result in termination. Remember that this is a private school not funded by tax dollars. And I agree with this principle; if a parent is willing to pay tuition out-of-pocket for religious education, it’s reasonable to expect that the teachers at the school are held to the standards of that particular religion. And if a person’s moral life is not in agreement with what is being taught at the school, it makes you wonder why they would want to teach there in the first place, instead of at a different private school that does not make such a big deal over it, or at a public school which is funded by the government and would not ask or care.
  - http://evilbobdayjob.blogspot.com/ Deidzoeb
    
    Hearing this almost gives me more respect for the congregations of Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart who were able to forgive them (more or less).
  - Sagodjur
    
    “it’s reasonable to expect that the teachers at the school are held to the standards of that particular religion”
    
    The problem is that religious standards are always selectively applied. How much charity work are the teachers required to do? Jesus seemed to be all about charity work and loving your neighbor as yourself. Do the school administrators give their excess earnings to the poor as Jesus told the rich man to do or else he wouldn’t get into heaven?
    - anony
      
      I don’t know about giving excess income to the poor, but the teachers are often organizing fundraisers and charity drives for both religious and secular charitable organizations.
    - Susan Carley Oliver
      
      ”The problem is that religious standards are always selectively applied.”
      
      No, not really. The problem is that there is no such thing as religious standards. There is no consortium defining “Baptist Religious Standards v4.9.37 (see subsection 2e for Southern Baptist, subsection 2f for American Baptist)”; there is only the religious text(s) used by that faith and the fallible human beings who interpret it. There’s also those human stinkers who take human needs and desires and dress them up in theological cloth, masquerading things like male dominance over women as “the divinely ordained order of things”.
      
      I’m so sorry that your religion worshiping nice charity-work Jesus didn’t take off. Then again, you might need a new religious text; the one most Xians use quotes the guy an awful lot saying things like “I came not to bring peace but a sword” and getting all violent on the moneylenders. Tricky Jesus!
      - Sagodjur
        
        I’m not a Christian, so it doesn’t offend me personally. Though I think turning over some tables without actually hitting any of the moneylenders wouldn’t constitute “getting all violent” with them. Maybe a tantrum, but hardly a reason to call the nearest centurian. Not to mention the centurions should be out profiling middle eastern terrorists and fighting the war on hasish since it drives assassins to murder people.
  - Palomino
    
    So, if schools can be private, why not relationships?
  - Charlie B
    
    “And if a person’s moral life is not in agreement with what is being taught at the school, it makes you wonder why they would want to teach there in the first place”
    
    For the money, usually, so they can keep food on the table for their godless heathen families.
  - http://www.xradiograph.com/ OtherMichael
    
    >it makes you wonder why they would want to teach there in the first place
    
    Knowing, of course, how easy it is to get a teaching job these days — they hand them out on streetcorners!
hymenopterid

Even if you can’t prove that’s why he wasn’t hired it doesn’t matter, because such questions are illegal to ask in a job interview.
nixiebunny

There are laws about this, right?
- penelopejonze
  
  Ohioans only have protection against discrimination because of sexual orientation in state jobs. So in public school this wouldn’t be allowed, but there’s no protection for religious schools or private companies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Ohio
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_RPSGL2HB7FO6VOUSO75YEABMKQ Robert

Religious school, not public. They have a right to be douchbags about this.
- hymenopterid
  
  Labor laws still apply.
  - http://greggman.com greggman
    
    Apparently the laws say it’s perfectly fine to fire people for these reasons
    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303918204577444221444859342.html
- asterios9
  
  Yeah, note how they had already discussed “his belief in Christ’s unconditional love,” as if that’s somehow normal in a job interview process. I have a feeling that I’d have a hard time getting employed at this school.
  - nixiebunny
    
    I have a feeling that I’d have zero desire to be employed by this school, except to have the opportunity to subversively tell the students that it’s normal and proper for them to reject the dogma being taught there.
  - Chuck
    
    The guy has obviously never heard of the Jesus who took up his cross and used it as a weapon to kill half of Jerusalem before he busted open a hole into Heaven and left. (Probably uttered some catch phrase before he walked through to the other side.)
  - BombBlastLightingWaltz
    
    The Bible has no love for crustaceans nor homosexuals as both are deemed abominations. Rather queer category to lump things together.
  - Steven Lawton
    
    Its perfectly, obviously normal to discuss your opinions and beliefs on Christianity when applying for a Christian private school. The school would NOT want to hire a die-hard anti-religious person which is a situation that would almost certainly end poorly for everyone involved, so it is a question that is completely relevant to the job. This is a private school and they can do as they like, including interviewing as they like.
- Antinous / Moderator
  
  They receive no public money? No vouchers?
- Charlie B
  
  If by RIGHT you mean ABILITY, then YES!
RedShirt77

Religion, such a great source of moral judgement.
BrotherPower

Gay Christians* are like poor Republicans — I’m sorry the group turned out to despise you, but really, WTF do you expect?

(*I mean “Christian” in the organized, churchy sense. I’m a big Jesus fan, too, but I don’t think it’s necessary to align oneself with any group to admire the man and try to follow his example.)
- RedShirt77
  
  Not really, republicans exist in a two party system. And will theoretically always control 50% of our government. Every constituency should always look to hold onto a some part of both parties.
  
  So really gay Christians are sort of like black klan members, if such a person existed.
  
  Hey guys, they hate you, don’t try to save them.
hobomike

Jesus Christ will bless him with a brutal lawyer.
http://www.disoriented.net/ angusm

Reading Mr Zeng’s summary, I think the conversation actually went something like this: “You’ve written here that you believe in Christ’s ‘unconditional love’ … are you some kinda commie faggot?”
- fuzzyfuzzyfungus
  
  While liberals like to point out that Jesus advocated ‘love your neighbor as yourself’, they don’t like to mention that Jesus lived in a gated subdivision in one of the most desirable suburbs…
  - http://www.facebook.com/aelfscine Jon Bakos
    
    And only healed heterosexual white people!
Palomino

Why don’t my gay peers fucking get it. I’ve been asked that question and I answered without lying:

‘I can tell you I’m NOT heterosexual’. (Air Force)

Sexuality = Sexuality
Sensuality = Sensuality

If they discriminate against HOMO-sexuality, they must discriminate against HETERO-sexuality, they can’t have it both ways.

Parts of society think gay men view all males sexually, including little boys, like some straight men view women, including little girls, with sex on their minds. But there are straight men who don’t do that, who don’t “rate” women on whether they would have sex with them or not. And those types of men are usually called “gay” by their “straight” all-male-review peers.

Anyway, two or more men sharing one woman, playing Tag and Simon Says, and dipping into a woman’s nether regions sans condoms, is the ultimate Faggiest activity known, and makes for enjoyable viewing for gay men, more so than gay/gay porn.

It’s all about the semen people, who it touches, who shares it, who swaps it. Yep, some boys will always be boys, whether straight or gay; give ‘em a little semen to play with and they’re happy.
BBNinja

If he’s a male having sex with other males wouldn’t that qualify him as a practicing Catholic…and for a transfer?
Lupus_Yonderboy

Because he’s a Christian and thought that he was very in-line with their ostensibly non-denominational school – he thought that their beliefs *did* coincide with his lifestyle. Honestly, I doubt that he would have kicked up a fuss if they had been *obvious* bigots, he probably wouldn’t have applied (I don’t believe he’s trying to be a test case for anyone, he just felt that their values were in line with his own, as did they because they hired him. I’m not saying that they have to employ him, just that *that’s* what’s going on here, his stated purpose in making this known is to register his displeasure with what went on (which he has a perfect right to do, in my opinion) and to communicate that with higher-ups on the school’s board of trustees and parents of students that go there.
Palomino

Because he’s a Music Teacher, THAT”S his lifestyle.