Gozen Soydag

Christian workers should not be prohibited from employment simply because they adhere to biblical beliefs. Christianity – and our Christian convictions – are ultimately good news for everyone, and we must be free to publicly stand by them.
In a free nation, no Christian should be forced to celebrate and promote ideologies and concepts of ‘marriage’ that are fundamentally contrary to our Christian beliefs. It is unjust to discriminate against and punish Christians simply because their celebration of the beauty of biblical marriage doesn’t include celebrating an unbiblical and destructive ideology. Homosexual ‘marriage’ is not biblical marriage – and no Christian should be forced to pretend it is.
God instituted marriage as a beautiful and important gift for humanity. His design for men and women is good, and we must be free to celebrate it, both in private and public. Christian beliefs should not be silenced, hidden behind closed doors, and removed from the public discussion. Christians must be free to hold to their beliefs publicly, without fear of losing their careers.

Gozen is receiving help from the Christian Legal Centre to take her case forwards.

We provide this support completely free of charge to Gozen and others like her.

2022:

September: Gozen Soydag, a Christian influencer and education behavioural specialist, starts as a Pastoral Manager at St Anne’s Catholic High School for Girls in North London. When hiring her, headteacher Emma Loveland tells Gozen: “I cannot tell you how much I feel you should be at St. Anne’s next year. Our students need you, I need you!”

2023:

9 February: Gozen is summoned by the school’s assistant deputy head, Jo Saunders, and told that concerns had been raised about her online social media activity – posted in her own time on her @wifeinthewaiting account. Her posts celebrate the biblical view of marriage and encourage women to find their value and identity in Jesus, not their relationship status. However, she is told she must make her social media accounts not publicly accessible and remove a video she reshared.
Late February: She is given 24 hours by the school to make her @wifeinthewaiting account not visible via Google search — something she explains will take longer to achieve. She does what she is able to comply with the school’s requests.
Late February: Gozen is dismissed from her job on her birthday and told to pack up and leave the premises immediately without pay, and without saying goodbye to her students or colleagues. The schools states her Christian beliefs – as posted on her online profiles – are “incompatible with the school’s mission statement and ethos.”

2024:

9 December: With the support of Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre, Gozen publicly announces she has launched legal action against St Anne’s Catholic High School for Girls, claiming wrongful dismissal, harassment, discrimination and human rights breaches on the grounds of her Christian beliefs. The Employment Tribunal agrees to hear the case.
10-13 December: A full Employment Tribunal hearing is held at Watford Employment Tribunal. The employment judge upheld Gozen’s dismissal and said her posts “Only celebrated the nuclear family, which could make other students from different backgrounds feel devalued”.

2025:

16 January: Gozen announces she will appeal the tribunal ruling, which upheld her dismissal and denied her right to free speech, with the continued support of Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre.

Gozen is receiving help from the Christian Legal Centre to take her case forwards.

We provide this support completely free of charge to Gozen and others like her.