A Christian counselor in England is appearing before an employment tribunal this week, claiming she was wrongfully dismissed by a school over her social media posts on marriage.
The counselor, 37-year-old Gozen Soydag, who worked as a pastoral manager, says her beliefs were deemed “incompatible” with the ethos and mission at St. Anne’s Catholic High School for Girls in North London, prompting her dismissal in February 2023.
Soydag, a social media influencer with nearly 40,000 followers across various Instagram accounts, alleges she was terminated after complaints arose about content on her profiles, according to the group Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting her employment tribunal appeal that opened on Tuesday.
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Soydag has accused the school of discrimination, harassment and breaches of human rights under the Equality Act 2010.
Soydag’s Instagram account, @wifeinthewaiting, promotes the sanctity of marriage and the traditional nuclear family, sharing posts that encourage Christian women to align with biblical teachings.
In one such post, she quoted the New Testament Epistle to the Ephesians, advocating for wives to “submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” Another post shared a video featuring a Muslim woman discussing her happiness in submitting to her husband — a video that, according to Soydag, sparked significant concern among school officials.
Soydag says the assistant deputy head told her during a meeting in February 2023 that if similar statements were made by a man, they would be labeled “misogynistic.”
Despite immediately removing the video, she was subsequently ordered to ensure her account was inaccessible via Google searches — a demand she explained was technically impossible to meet within the 24-hour timeframe provided.
Soydag’s termination occurred shortly thereafter.
In an email, the school reportedly stated her dismissal was due to her “extensive online profile” being “incompatible with the school’s mission statement and ethos.”
Soydag, however, disputes this reasoning, asserting that her beliefs align with the school’s Catholic foundations. St. Anne’s mission statement cites values such as treating others fairly and following the teachings of Jesus Christ.
“I still do not know what I did wrong to warrant being dismissed,” Soydag said in a statement. “I wanted to work in the education sector and make an impact for young people. This was a Catholic school, and they knew I was a passionate woman of faith. The school’s building is in the shape of the Cross. Every classroom had a Cross and Bible verses on the walls. This was a place where I believed they accepted Jesus.”
Soydag joined the school in September 2022, inspired by its apparent commitment to Christianity, with crosses and Bible verses displayed in classrooms. Initially praised for her “outstanding” work, Soydag was abruptly summoned to a meeting in February 2023, where she was first informed of complaints about her social media activity.
She maintains that her accounts, which she never directed students to, are intended for adult women seeking guidance on Christian principles of marriage.
“My social media channels were about sharing hope through the Word of God, especially for women,” she continued. “No one who desires marriage wants a singles ministry! But that is what God gave me. The majority of my adult life I have worked with vulnerable people. I’ve never had a complaint against me and it has never been suggested that I am a danger to anyone.”
The Christian Legal Centre contends that Soydag’s dismissal violated the Employment Rights Act 1996, as the school failed to finalize a written contract for her employment before her dismissal. Soydag seeks damages for breach of contract and wrongful dismissal.
CLC Chief Executive Andrea Williams calls Soydag’s case “another example of schools with a Christian ethos capitulating to secular orthodoxy under pressure.”
“Gozen was doing a fantastic job in a tough area of London, supporting young women in a Catholic school, until someone complained about her beliefs expressed in her own time,” Williams said.
With so much focus made today on “diversity in the workplace,” Soydag questions the authenticity of such efforts.
“[In] this instance, my beliefs and who I am as a Christian were completely excluded. … If this had been anyone else with a belief as part of the ‘inclusive’ culture, I would have been celebrated and promoted,” she said.
