Religious conservatives join forces to protest LGBT lessons at Birmingham school

Members of various religious conservative groups attended a protest against a Birmingham school teaching the LGBT-inclusive “No Outsiders” programme on Thursday (7 March).

Videos of the protest published on the Facebook page Alum Rock Community Forum, a local residents’ group, showed a man addressing the crowd from a van bearing the slogans “Our children, our choice” and “Stop! No Outsiders.”

A group of parents objecting to the teaching of LGBT-inclusive lessons has been petitioning and staging protests outside Parkfield Community School for weeks.

Protests intensified at the beginning of the month, with more than 500 parents reportedly refusing to send their children to school on Friday (March 1).

One of the men addressing the rally on Thursday demanded the abolition of the No Outsiders programme, accusing its creator, assistant headteacher Andrew Moffat, of “reinterpreting religious scriptures.”

Those addressing protesters demanded the abolition of the LGBT-inclusive No Outsiders programme at the Birmingham school. (Alum Rock Community Group/Facebook)

Calling the programme “toxic” and “mind-altering,” the man said the protesters’ goal is not to just stop No Outsiders at Parkfield Community School, but at all Birmingham schools and even all schools around the UK.

On Twitter, residents living in the area near the school reported receiving leaflets from the Alum Rock Parents’ Community Group with instructions on how to set up a pressure group to oppose LGBT-inclusive lessons in other schools, reading: “It is blatant discrimination against our ethos to promote a gay ethos in our schools.”

A disclaimer at the bottom of the leaflet also reads: “We do not condone any homophobic behaviour and believe all people be treated with respect.”

Members of conservative religious groups attend protest outside Birmingham school

The speakers addressing protesters on Thursday weren’t only concerned parents or community leaders. One woman who was invited on stage to address the crowd introduced herself as Dr. Lisa Nolland of the Anglican Mainstream.

The Anglican Mainstream is a religious group known for its anti-LGBT stance. In 2012, they distributed leaflets at the Conservative Party Conference opposing then Prime Minister’s David Cameron’s support for same-sex marriage. In 2015, Anglican Mainstream was among the conservative groups that organised a conference in Westminster promoting so-called gay cure therapy.

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