Should homosexuals be allowed to teach in Catholic schools?

[costargh]

A fundamental pillar of Christianity is that the only relationship accepted by god is that between man and woman. (This is just citing a belief of a religion)
So with that in mind, should people who do not believe in this fundamental principal be allowed to impose their  beliefs in Catholic schools, potentially undermining generations of this religion?

Discuss

[excal]

That's up to the school to decide.

They shouldn't, however, discrimate his employment status based on his sexuality. That said, he ought not to impose his beliefs on others.

[Eriny]

I don't think the school has any right to know the sexual preferences of their employees in the first place. It has nothing to do with the strength of the employee's religious beliefs, nor does it impact on their quality of teaching whatsoever. So, yeah, I think homosexuals should be allowed to teach in Catholic schools if they choose to and are qualified to do so.

[Odette]

I went to a Catholic school, and one of our teachers was a lesbian, but then later on she left the school. So I guess as long as they are qualified to teach, and they don't impose their beliefs on others then they should be free to teach at any school (as others have mentioned above).

[Collin Li]

I don't think the school has any right to know the sexual preferences of their employees in the first place. It has nothing to do with the strength of the employee's religious beliefs, nor does it impact on their quality of teaching whatsoever. So, yeah, I think homosexuals should be allowed to teach in Catholic schools if they choose to and are qualified to do so.

The school has the right to preferentially hire people who voluntarily reveal their sexual preferences (as a bargaining chip - "hey I'm straight, hire me!"). However, it is too easy to lie (unless the school goes to the extreme length of requiring a marriage certificate before a teacher has a good chance to be employed), so information asymmetry gets the better of them - good for homosexuals, bad for the bigoted schools.

[costargh]

The issue has come up quite a bit in religion classes throughout schooling, with some teachers saying their "opinions" but basically saying that while they don't agree with the Catholic view against homosexuality, they are inclined to educate us in that way.

[brendan]

That question ought to be up to individual schools to decide

[Rietie]

I think Catholic schools are becoming more open about these sorts of things. So while Catholic schools follow the core beliefs of the religion, they don't exactly follow the beliefs of the Church. I go to a girls Catholic private school. I'm pretty sure most students and teachers would be for (or at least not completely against) the pill, abortion and equal rights (including marriage) for homosexuals. Well... at least abortion and the pill. I don't get why homosexuals can't have marriage or a union recognzed by law... so discriminatory.

[costargh]

I don't get why homosexuals can't have marriage or a union recognzed by law... so discriminatory.

Well at least from a Catholic perspective you would have to realise that the bible has various passages highlighting that a relationship (or a union) is only to be between man and woman. And considering that the majority of this country worships some form of Christianity it would seem pretty logical that the government would not impose a law that is findamentally against the religious beliefs of millions of Australians.

However, what bothers me about a statement such as the one I have made above, is that people assume just because someone is Christian that they believe EVERYTHING that the church  is for and is against EVERYTHING that the church opposes.
If that was the case, the majority of people would not technically be true believers.

[Collin Li]

There is no "imposing" if you allow same-sex marriages. The law does not take person A and match him up with person B of the same sex. The law would actually impose less, because it would remove the government intervention in regards to marriage.

[bubble sunglasses]

There is no "imposing" if you allow same-sex marriages. The law does not take person A and match him up with person B of the same sex. The law would actually impose less, because it would remove the government intervention in regards to marriage.

  Agreed.
 
    Removing any financial incentives to get married would also be a positive step.

   EDIT: As to the thread topic, while it's "their house, their rules" to some extent, the message it sends out to students, [not all of whom choose to go to that school] is unnacceptable IMO

[Collin Li]

Removing any financial incentives to get married would also be a positive step.

I definitely agree with this.

"Their house, their rules" is an important principle. It would actually be imposing (and hard to enforce) if you forced schools to not discriminate. However, it is to the detriment of catholic schools that they choose to discriminate: they are left with less choice. You might accuse me of being unfair to the homosexual teacher, but there is no better alternative. Forcing a school to view homosexual teachers objectively is not practical, nor is it fair for the school - who own the property and should be able to manage the school the way they wish. On the other hand, the lower demand (since some catholic schools will not demand them) for homosexual teachers will make them cheaper for other schools to hire them - helps the parents.

Keep in mind that even though I am against outlawing discrimination, I am certainly not against individual choices against discrimination. The bad publicity the school gets from media sensationalisation ("discrimination scandal!") is the price they pay.

[costargh]

Can someone make a comment regarding the actual beliefs of homosexual people which may bring about a conflict in interest when teaching at a Catholic school? (Most teachers are hired only if they are willing to teach R.E or have some form of education in R.E from the best of my understanding)

[droodles]

why would a homosexual person want to teach at catholic schools anyway, i'm pretty sure they don't believe in religion and since christianity forbids same sex intimate relationships, why would they bother?

[Eriny]

I don't see how it's fair that the school gets to choose to discriminate against applicants. A qualified teacher should be able to be able to teach at any school of their choosing. Sexuality shouldn't be allowed to make a difference.