A Christian doctor in the United Kingdom has been fired from his job after refusing to refer to a man as “madam.”

Britain’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) dismissed Dr. David Mackereth, 56, because he did not use the pronoun of choice for his patient but instead usedthe pronoun that matched the patient’s biological sex.

Mackereth said that using transgender pronouns would violate his conscience as a physician and Bible-believing Christian.

“According to DWP, Mackereth’s failure to accommodate his patients’ pronoun preferences amounted to harassment, as defined by the Equality Act, and he was dismissed from his position as Health and Disability Assessor,” LifeSite News reported. Mackereth, a former emergency department doctor of 26 yearsfor the National Health Service, is now suing the government at an employment tribunal for discrimination on religious grounds.

In court, Mackereth argued that one’s sex—male or female—is “unchangeable and fundamental to who we are as people who were created in the image of God,” The Independent reported.

“What kind of mixed-up world are we living in that would require—or even ask—a doctor to refer to a man as she or a woman as he?” wrote Franklin Graham on Facebook. “Dr. Mackereth told a tribunal panel that using transgender pronouns was a ‘denial of an obvious truth.’ Dr. Mackereth is referred to as ‘unashamedly Christian’—That’s a good thing! We should not be ashamed to stand up for our faith or the truth. … Pray for Dr. Mackereth, that his rights to religious conscience would be upheld—it’s a decision that could impact many.”

The Christian Legal Centre (CLC), which represents Mackereth, says DWP has violated the Equality Act. CLC’s chief executive, Andrea Williams, described the doctor as “a Christian hero who chose to sacrifice his distinguished professional career rather than compromise on the Bible and his conscience.”

Photo: Alamy.com