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Cornerstone Christian Academy, a publicly funded school, was told certain scriptures “should not be read or studied”. Staff at the school in Alberta, Canada were told by email some bible passages can “denigrate or vilify” the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) community. The demand from the school’s funding body the Battle River School Division (BRSD) sparked outrage.

GETTY STOCK IMAGES A school has been warned to stop teaching some bible passages

We're talking about freedom of religion, but we're also talking about freedom of expression Cornerstone Chair Deanna Margel

Cornerstone Chair Deanna Margel branded the email “shocking”. She said: "We're talking about freedom of religion, but we're also talking about freedom of expression. "We need every single word there to challenge us, to call us to greater understanding. It's just so important." BRSD chair Lauri Skori said it would be inappropriate for the school to share "any teachings that denigrate or vilify someone's sexual orientation”.

Earlier this year, the school removed a passage from Corinthians about immorality from its website following a request from BRSD. The school is said to be seeking legal advice from the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom (JCCF). A JCCF spokesman said the school’s funding body “have no right to impose their own ideology on schools they disagree with”.

BRSD.AB.CA The school may be forced to shut down or find new funding

GETTY STOCK IMAGE Staff were told some bible passages can “denigrate or vilify” the LGBT community

The school may be forced to shut down or find new funding if it is unable to reach a resolution with the BRSD. BRSD said it sent the email following a change in Canada’s human rights legislation. Last week the Canadian Senate passed a transgender rights bill adding ‘gender expression’ and ‘gender identity’ to Canada’s Human Rights Code and to the Criminal Code's hate crime section.

GETTY Dr Jordan Peterson has criticised the transgender rights bill

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