The Archbishop of Canterbury—the Most Reverend Justin Welby—has weighed in on a heated debate that has been unfolding at a primary school in England.
A Christian couple has threatened to sue a Church of England school for allowing a trans girl in their son’s class to wear a dress.
Nigel and Sally Rowe claim that their son became “quite ill and stressed” because of his classmate’s attire but that they were not prejudiced against transgender people.
Speaking on an LBC Radio program, the Archbishop said that he would say to the couple: “I don’t think that’s a problem”.
"The other family are making up their own minds. The other child is making up their own mind.
"Talk to your child. Help them to understand. Help them to see what's going on and to be faithful to their own convictions.”
He added that taking the matter to court was not the best course of action and encouraged dialogue.
“I would say where something like that happens I never see the point in going to law,” he said.
“I think we should try and solve these things without legal involvement, with people getting together around a table, with a mediator, to help them come to a conclusion.
In a video produced for Christian Concern, the Rowes say that schools should be a “place where children are children and not to be subjected to political ideology of genderism”.
The added that their son was “under stress partly because of the way he learns as a boy – he enjoys being outside – and also the confusion that was caused by having a boy in his class who decided to announce that they were going to have a girl's name and be dressed as a girl.”
The Isle of Wight couple have previously pulled another son out of school because of a similar incident last year and now home school both children.
