Colin Hart of the Christian Institute

The head of the Christian Institute has claimed that it’s sinful to refer to transgender people with the correct pronouns.

Colin Hart, the director of the Christian Institute, made the comments in the evangelical pressure group’s annual report.

He claimed that the Biblical teachings require people to intentionally refer to transgender people by the wrong pronoun, though transgender people are not actually mentioned in the Bible.

Hart said: “Parents – even those who are not Christians – are increasingly alarmed by the gender ideology being promoted in schools. Children are being told to treat boys as if they are girls in some cases.”

He added: “It is not loving for us to give the impression that the Christ we serve is happy with someone living as the opposite sex. Instead, we must call people to repentance.

“A major difficulty for Christian believers is the expectation that we will use feminine pronouns for a man who says he is a woman, or vice versa.

“This puts us on the spot and asks us to endorse sin in a way that doesn’t normally happen in conversation.

“The difference between ‘he’ and ‘she’ is only a single letter. But it’s a letter that makes all the difference in the world. The difference between truth and a lie.

“We respect all people, including those who believe they are the opposite sex. But lying would mean the Christian believer commits sin.

“As Luther said, ‘to go against conscience is neither right nor safe’.”

He claimed: “In the West, Christians are not being stopped from believing that Christ is God. But there are attempts to compel us to say things that aren’t true – and which we therefore don’t believe – about a person’s sex.

“These attempts are wrong and it’s wrong for us to go along with them.”

Elsewhere in the report, the Christian Institute claimed it is “illegal” for schools to hold rainbow days in support of LGBT rights.

The report claims: “A number of schools have held ‘rainbow days’ in which pupils are asked to come to school dressed up in the colours of the gay pride flag and make a donation to Stonewall for the privilege of not wearing uniform.

“Many Christian children and those of other faiths feel they cannot do this.

“Going to school in uniform on these ‘rainbow days’ makes them stand out as non-affirming of the gay pride agenda.

“This can stigmatise Christian children and is unlawful. We have shared our legal advice with Ofsted and the Department for Education.”

The annual report reveals that the non-profit received £3,069,694 in funding in 2017, up from £2,830,908 in 2016 – despite few visible public fundraising efforts targeted at supporters.

The Christian Institute’s website claims “we entirely depend on donations to fund our work”.

There was no breakdown on diversity in the report, though a list of board and staff members illustrates an apparent lack of representation in the organisation.

The Christian Institute, which is fundamentally at odds with the beliefs of the majority of Christians in the UK, has long opposed LGBT rights – lobbying against civil partnerships, equal marriage, inclusive sex education and LGBT anti-discrimination laws.

Previously, the Christian Institute claimed there aren’t enough gays in UK to justify giving them equal rights.

Hitting out at the Conservatives over equal marriage in 2012, the group claimed that “it is staggering that such a monumental change is being carried out on behalf of a tiny proportion of society.”