Penrith Christian School tells parents trans identity and same-sex acts not acceptable to God

The school’s “Statement of Faith” ranks same-sex attraction or transgender identity alongside abusive relationships as “behaviours which are not acceptable to God”.

A Sydney school has told parents that being gay or transgender is in the same category as being in an abusive relationship, as part of its enrolment application.

Penrith Christian School tells prospective parents they must declare they have read and understand its “Statement of Faith” and gives them an option to discuss any matter with the school.

That document, dated September 2021, states: “Sexual relationships should be exercised exclusively in a marital relationship between a male and female.

“Adultery, same sex attraction, transgender identity, premarital sex, sexual acts between members of the same sex and abusive relationships, are all examples of relationships and behaviours which are not acceptable to God.”

Tracey Deal, Principal at Penrith Christian School. Picture: Twitter

Principal Tracey Deal wouldn’t answer questions about what that meant in practice at the school and said she could not comment further.

“As all our school policies are currently going through significant review with much change in the last two years, I am not able to comment until they have been through a ratification process with the school board,” she said in an email.

The revelation comes as the federal government said it would change the Sex Discrimination Act to remove provisions which allow schools to discriminate against gay and transgender students.

Trans Advocate Katherine Wolfgramme said schools openly discriminating against students based on their identity was harmful to the pupils’ mental health.

“I went through hell at school, bullied and discriminated against by many fellow students and some teachers,” she said. “So much harm towards individuals has been committed in the name of Christianity but not once did Jesus Christ discriminate against children, in fact it was the opposite.

Trans advocate Katherine Wolfgramme. Picture: John Appleyard

“I call on church leaders to put aside their personal beliefs and remember the word of Jesus who said ‘suffer the little children to come unto me for they are innocent’ — not once did he say ‘except this one and that one’.”

Deakin University’s Associate Professor in Sociology of Religion Dr Anna Halafoff said the discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender students was out of line with mainstream values.

She noted in the United States a lot of young people had left Pentecostal churches because their views on sexuality and gender identity were not in line with their own.

“This is the real problem here, how can we live in a society that allows certain views which then harm others. That’s highly problematic and our awareness is increasingly of the importance of human rights when it comes to gender, sexuality, race and religion,” she said.

Supplied Editorial Penrith Christian School. Picture: Google

“There are other more extreme religious practices which are banned by the law (in Australia) and should stay banned by the law.

“One of the great strengths of our multicultural, multifaith society is that diversity is respected as long as it is within the bounds of a common law.

“To me it seems absurd the Morrison Government said before the draft of the current bill they would not allow practices which would discriminate against students but why then allow practices that would discriminate against teachers.”