• Gloriavale’s children face extensive book bans, including classics like Lord of the Rings and fairy tales
• Labour MP Duncan Webb calls the censorship “deeply troubling,” denying children stories that connect them to the outside world
• Liz Gregory of Gloriavale Leavers’ Support Trust describes the email as “absurd censorship” and urges government investigation

Lord of the Rings, stories about Christmas and Easter, and nearly all books containing pictures of animals wearing clothes are on the list of reading material considered too “worldly” for Gloriavale’s children.

An email leaked from the West Coast Christian community and sent to politicians has laid out the vast amount of book categories senior leadership disapproved of for members who were homeschooling their kids.

Labour MP Duncan Webb, who has spoken against Gloriavale in the past, warns while some of the banned books might seem funny, the reality of the censorship was “deeply troubling” and children were being denied stories that served as a “window to the outside world”.

The Gloriavale Christian Community. Photo / George Heard

The leaked email, sent from senior leader Peter Righteous’ email address last month, noted he was “disappointed to find books celebrating Christmas on our shelves, and others that were simply worldly”.

Righteous refers in his email to “rules” put in place by founding brethren, which forbid books in the following categories:

• Fairy tales and fantasies
• Science fiction
• Anything promoting Christmas, Easter and the like
• Supernatural or occult themes
• Myths and legends presented as truth
• Anything promoting evolution
• Books presenting wrong as right, or the idea the end justifies the means

Acceptable books include:

• History that “does not contain an obvious bias toward glorifying Babylon”
• History that confirms the truth of the scripture and challenges the typical narrative of world history
• Science “without the evolution or extreme views on conservation etc”
• Poetry that encourages “wholesome value”
• Biographies of famous people, “but avoid the movie stars and rock’n’roll type”
• War history, without glorifying the violence
• Stories of survival, overcoming obstacles, victory against adversity
• Fiction limited to “wholesome Godly themes” preferably in a historical setting

Righteous also offered clarification to members about other books that should not be used, including Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia, joke books, and book series with a fictional hero, such as Biggles.

“If you have a hero who always conveniently and surprisingly finds the solution to his problems without God, what are you teaching your children? If they live in a realm of fantasy, they will not be exercising faith. Better for them to read a one-off historical novel where there may be a wonderful outcome, but it is realistic,” he wrote.

He said a grey area was books with illustrations of animals wearing clothes.

“These were once forbidden, but we had a push to allow Winnie the Pooh because he was so kind to his friends. God bless him.”

He does not explain why such books are generally banned.

Winnie the Pooh is a rare exception to the ban on books containing illustrations of animals wearing clothes.

Righteous said the homeschooling area was a “minefield” at the moment, as people searching for materials for their children “may not be aware of the dangers lurking behind the curtain”.

As a general rule, anything popular among Christians should be treated with caution, he said. Books that were generally popular were also a red flag, he said, referring to a popular marriage counselling book by a female author.

“It was infected with feminist propaganda. It belonged in the bin.”

Manager of the Gloriavale Leavers’ Support Trust, Liz Gregory, described the email as “disturbing” and said it displayed “absurd censorship” in the small community.

“It showcases the power and control under which the people in Gloriavale live. It explains why the education of those inside Gloriavale and those leaving is woefully inadequate, and why “monitoring and oversight” is simply not enough,” she wrote in a message to politicians.

In her message, sent to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, coalition partners David Seymour and Winston Peters, Education Minister Erica Stanford, and others in the education sector, Gregory said Righteous’ email “highlights the thinking patterns of those in leadership at Gloriavale”.

“I think you will agree that this level of absurd censorship is damaging the current children in Gloriavale,” she wrote. “The Royal Commission recommendation was to ensure the ongoing safety of the children in Gloriavale. How can this occur in this stifling environment?

“At this time while the school is still being reviewed, I believe it’s an essential piece of information that needs immediate attention. I also believe there needs to be an immediate investigation into the pre-school licences held by Gloriavale on the basis of this email.”

She asked the Government to announce an investigation into the pre-schools and reconsider their licences, organise adequate educational provision off-site for Gloriavale kids starting next year, and to halt any more home school exemptions unless families were living “with autonomy in houses off the Gloriavale property”.

“Living in close quarters makes people feel like they are being observed by leaders and also their informing neighbours,” she said.

Gloriavale Leavers' Support Trust manager Liz Gregory has called out the "absurd censorship" in Peter Righteous' email.

Stanford has been contacted for comment.

Webb told the Herald the email was “not amusing, it’s actually deeply troubling”.

“One of the dangers around Gloriavale is that people look at it and go ‘aren’t they quaint and silly?’”

He said the truth was “much darker” and that there was a culture of oppression, as evidenced by Righteous’ comments on the “feminist” marriage counselling book.

“Essentially they are saying you can only read misogynistic texts, you can only read texts that reflect a male hierarchy.”

Labour MP Duncan Webb said the banned books demonstrate a culture of oppression at Gloriavale. File photo / Mark Mitchell

He said children could not read classic fairy tales such as Cinderella or Hansel and Gretel, and that these rules deprived them of their “birthright”.

“These texts have come up through our generations, it actually means something ... it’s just so depressing and so controlling to deny them.

“Literature and arts are a window to the outside world and this is drawing a blind down on them.”

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.