Trans CofE minister reports conservative Christian to the police
Transgender CofE minister who was born female reports conservative Christian to the police for branding his marriage to a woman ‘evil and wicked’
- The Rev Alex Clare-Young was registered female at birth but identifies as male
- He and minister wife Jo feature in clip promoting LGBTQ participation in church
- Evangelical Christian Ben John posted response video describing same-sex partnerships as ‘evil and wickedness’
- Rev Clare-Young has reported him to North Yorkshire police for hate crime and claiming he was in a same-sex relationship
A transgender Christian minister who appeared in a film promoting more LGBTQ tolerance in the church has reported an evangelical Christian over an alleged hate crime.
The Reverend Alex Clare-Young of the United Reformed Church was registered as female at birth but now identifies as a man.
He and his wife, Jo, who is also a minister, appeared in a video clip for Living in Love and Faith that called for improving the participation of LGBTQ people in the Church of England.
Reverend Alex Clare-Young, a transgender Christian minister who appeared in a film promoting more LGBTQ tolerance in the church has reported an evangelical Christian over an alleged hate crime
The video also contained a message from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.
But the film also attracted the response of Ben John, an evangelical Christian from the conservative group Christian Concern, who posted a 15-minute video rant where he described marriage between anyone other than a man and a woman as ‘evil and wickedness’.
While Rev Clare-Young and Jo are not named in the clip, Mr John uses them as an example, saying: ‘In reality if transgenderism is a false ideology, which it is, then what we’re actually seeing here is a lesbian couple.
‘This man isn’t really a man. She’s a woman. So whilst the Church of England might say yes we haven’t changed the doctrine of marriage, they have changed the practice.’
Ben John, an evangelical Christian from the conservative group Christian Concern, posted a 15-minute video rant where he described marriage between anyone other than a man and a woman as ‘evil and wickedness’
Rev Clare-Young said they felt personally targeted in a way that made them feel unsafe, but when he asked Christian Concern to remove the post they refused.
‘I’m not trying to exclude people who identify as conservative evangelicals with a traditional view of scripture,’ Mr Clare-Young told The Times.
‘I don’t want anyone to be excluded, but neither do I want anyone to exclude me.
‘It describes me and my wife as being in a same-sex marriage, which isn’t true. It made me feel very unsafe.’
Rev Clare-Young has now reported the matter to North Yorkshire police, who confirmed the incident was being investigated as a hate crime.
Andrea Williams, chief executive of Christian Concern, said: ‘Everyone should simply watch the video. There is nothing abusive about the video we released relating to Living in Love and Faith.
‘Our motivation is always one of love for God and for people. The video does not contain personal attacks and simply calls on the Church of England to uphold its Biblical understanding of sex and gender.
‘It is, in fact, revisionists in the church who have resorted to personal attacks by waging a campaign of intimidation to try and silence people in the debate. This is neither edifying nor honest.
‘Anyone who genuinely seeks to uphold traditional Biblical teaching, no matter how gently it is put is castigated by slur and name-calling. The interest appears not to be in engaging in genuine Biblical reflection, but rather in using this as a tool for getting their own way.’
