{"id":3355,"date":"2026-07-16T04:35:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T04:35:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=3355"},"modified":"2026-07-16T04:35:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T04:35:41","slug":"where-was-the-inclusion-pastor-fired-for-not-using-preferred-pronouns-claims-religious-discrimination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=3355","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Where Was The Inclusion?\u2019: Pastor Fired For Not Using \u2018Preferred Pronouns\u2019 Claims Religious Discrimination"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div><!-- \/10519169\/dailycaller_incontent_1 --> <\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A Louisiana pastor sued the Baton Rouge library after it fired him for refusing to use \u201cpreferred pronouns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=3354\">Where Does The Charlie Kirk Assassination Case Stand And Where Does It Go From Here<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Liberty Counsel filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging the library and East Baton Rouge Parish\u2019s decision to terminate bi-vocational Pastor Luke Ash after he refused to use preferred pronouns, according to a Thursday press release from the legal group. The complaint states that the East Baton Rouge Parish Library specifically terminated Ash because his religious beliefs prevented him from using \u201cpreferred\u201d male pronouns to refer to a biologically female coworker.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere was the inclusion and welcoming of diverse views when you happen to be a Christian? It seems in today\u2019s world that\u2019s non-existent,\u201d Daniel Schmid, Associate Vice President of Legal Affairs at Liberty Counsel told Daily Caller News Foundation in an interview.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat we see so often [see] with these \u2018inclusivity\u2019 policies, is they\u2019re inclusive of everyone but religious,\u201d Schmid added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPastor Ash contends that the library\u2019s \u2018Inclusivity Policy\u2019 requiring such usage violated his First Amendment religious rights and that the library failed to engage in the Title VII religious accommodation process before firing him,\u201d Liberty Counsel\u2019s release added.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/10519169\/dailycaller_incontent_2 --> <\/p>\n<p>A coworker asked Ash in July 2025 whether he would use male pronouns for a biologically female trainee,  to the lawsuit. Ash said he refused, arguing that his Christian faith teaches biological sex is immutable and that using those pronouns would violate his religious convictions. <span><strong>(RELATED: Teacher Fired For Not Using Student\u2019s Trans Pronouns Wins Settlement)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Ash desired to use the trainees\u2019s name rather than their preferred pronouns, the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey could have provided him with accommodation. They chose not to. They chose to terminate him instead, explicitly for violation of the \u2018inclusivity policy,\u2019\u201d Schmid told DCNF.<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/10519169\/dailycaller_incontent_3 --> <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe 1st amendment prohibits the government from compelling you to speak a message that violates your convictions. There\u2019s a whole host of reasons why, but the right to speech allows an individual to say what they want and not to say what they don\u2019t want,\u201d the attorney added. \u201cAlso [you] have your traditional Title VII cases where employees are permitted to seek accommodation for their sincere religious convictions and you can\u2019t fire someone for refusing to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schmid also addressed the counter argument of that Ash should have received a religious exemption, that the pastor was a newer employee and that he never had sought a religious exemption in the past.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that he had never requested one before or never had one before is irrelevant to the obligation of the library to provide one here,\u201d the attorney said.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=3352\">Congressman Ro Khanna Says Armed Israeli Settlers Detained Him In West Bank<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cTitle VII prohibits employers from discriminating in the process of hiring, and while an employee is hired. So if you have a sincere religious conviction that conflicts with an employment requirement, the attorney told DCNF. \u201cThe employer is under a duty under Title VII providing reasonable accommodations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schmid added that there is a \u201cwhole host of laws out there that prohibit exactly what was done.\u201d He specified that some of the laws are statutory and some constitutional. However, he said, they all point to one conclusion, \u201cwhich is what the library did to Pastor Ash is unlawful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGovernments are bending over backwards, to compel religious adherence, to violate their convictions so that someone\u2019s feelings aren\u2019t hurt,\u201d the attorney added. \u201cSometimes someone\u2019s religious beliefs don\u2019t comport with your views on the world. But you have to hear them, and we have laws that prohibit terminating someone\u2019s employment or ostracizing them from the community just because they hold a belief different than yours.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with using a first name? We do that on a daily basis. What you\u2019re trying to compel it to recognize something that\u2019s not real. You\u2019re compelling me to lie what his religious convictions are, and that [is] not the way it works,\u201d he told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>Ash is seeking legal action against multiple entities: Sid Edwards, Mayor-President of Baton Rogue, Brandon Noel, Mayor-Pro Tempore, Katrina Stokes, Library Director of the East Baton Rouge Parish and Candace Temple, President of the Library Board of Control of the City of East Baton Rouge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe East Baton Rouge Parish Library does not comment publicly on personnel matters,\u201d Katrina Stokes, East Baton Rouge Parish Library Director, told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>Edwards, Noel and Temple did not immediately respond to the DCNF\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Liberty Counsel  a letter on Oct. 10, 2025 requesting the library to reinstate Ash with back pay pushing for a reversion of the pronoun policy.<\/p>\n<p>Luke Ash is the lead pastor of Stevendale Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. The small church, established in 2025, has only two staff members: Ash and a music minister, according to its website.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=3350\">Veteran Actor, \u2018Police Academy\u2019 Star Dead At 75<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Louisiana pastor sued the Baton Rouge library after it fired him for refusing to use \u201cpreferred pronouns.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>\u2018Where Was The Inclusion?\u2019: Pastor Fired For Not Using \u2018Preferred Pronouns\u2019 Claims Religious Discrimination - 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