The Kentucky Board of Social Work has determined that a Christian counselor did not violate the professional standards of his practice by speaking out against the embrace of LGBT ideology, as the effort to restore the mental health professional to his former position following his termination continues.
In a statement published Wednesday, the religious liberty law firm Liberty Counsel announced that the board dismissed ethics complaints against an unnamed Christian counselor who was fired for expressing traditional religious beliefs on gender and sexuality in a Facebook post.
The Kentucky Board of Social Work informed the counselor in a letter on Tuesday that it “concluded that the facts alleged in this matter do not constitute any apparent violation of Kentucky law governing the practice of social work.”
“First Amendment speech and religious protections do not disappear when someone becomes a licensed counselor,” Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said in response to the dismissal of the complaints. “These frivolous complaints are a clear attempt to unconstitutionally silence and censor opposing views. There was no jurisdiction or cause here to regulate the counselor’s speech or discipline him based on private expressions of religious and political beliefs.”
As outlined in a demand letter published on behalf of their client on July 18, the ordeal began when the counselor’s former employer posted a Facebook message in June declaring “Happy Pride Month!” and touting efforts to create “a safe and affirming space for the LGBTQIA+ community.”
The counselor, without directly naming or tagging his employer, posted his own Facebook message lamenting the “constant pressure to compromise beliefs to make people happy in this field.”
“I love my career and the people I serve with a passion, but I’m not going to sell my soul for it,” the post added. “While places I work might be a ‘safe and affirming space for lqbtqia+ community,’ I personally (and professionally) never want to affirm rebellion against our Creator. What good does it do if we gain the whole world — my favorite job, perfect mental health even — if we lose our own soul? I’ve recently watched previously sold Christians sell out on this issue. Count me out. I’m His, and sticking to His Word.”
The counselor’s post resulted in the filing of three complaints in early June against him with the Kentucky Board of Social Work, one of which accused him of engaging in “discriminatory rhetoric targeting LGBTQ people.”
The complaint expressed concern about his response to a comment that “so many disorders are ultimately caused by sin and the fall of man.” The complaint described the comments as “antithetical to the very foundations of the profession.”
“Their blatant bias regarding the cause of mental disorders has the potential to do serious harm not only to marginalized communities but to the public in general,” the complaint added.
A second complaint alleged that the counselor “failed to abide by the core social work competencies and code of ethics that we are taught to follow and practice by” and failed to uphold the professional mandate to “practice unconditional positive regard.”
The second complaint denounced the counselor’s Facebook post as “improper, unethical, and unprofessional, potentially causing harm” to members of the LGBT community who would have seen the post.
The third complaint was filed by the counselor’s former employer, who also fired him and posted a message on Facebook that his lawyers say “publicly shamed” their client.
The Facebook message in question accused the counselor of engaging in “hate and anger and judgment” and said he was “calloused to the hurt that people experience that he would put his feelings above the hundreds if not thousands of patients that he had touched, and tear away a level of safety, comfort, or acceptance.” It also called the counselor’s actions “a selfish attempt to defend personal salvation and conviction at the cost of many.”
Liberty Counsel insisted in its demand letter that the Kentucky Board of Social Work should dismiss all the complaints because they failed to name specific professional standards that their client had failed to meet.
The lawyers argue that his statements on Facebook are protected by the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the Kentucky Constitution and the Kentucky Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
While the complaints against the client have been dismissed, Liberty Counsel expressed disappointment that he had not been rehired by his former employer. Their client is “pursuing appropriate remedies.”
“The counselor’s employer should reinstate him immediately and correct this potentially costly mistake,” Staver declared.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
