The Christian Institute warns No.10 over conversion therapy ban after Australian debacle

• The Christian Institute has written to Rishi Sunak over concerns with a ‘conversion therapy’ ban.

• In Victoria, Australia, guidance for a conversion therapy law now tells Christians what they can and cannot pray and teach.

• The Australian law could even see Christians investigated for saying the Lord’s Prayer with gay friends.

• Plans for a similar law in New South Wales have also come into conflict with protecting religious freedom.

The Christian Institute has written to the PM over his plans to outlaw so-called ‘conversion therapy’ after more details emerged of problems with similar bans in Australia.

In Victoria, Australia, guidance on its conversion therapy ban outlines state-approved language for religious prayers and pastoral care. Leading activists in the UK have called Victoria’s law “the gold standard”.

According to the Victoria guidance, Christian ministers could be prosecuted for encouraging churchgoers to say the Lord’s Prayer. If copied in the UK, it would result in one of the most religiously repressive laws in centuries.

Elsewhere in Australia, the state of New South Wales has run into trouble after details emerged of a “secretive” consultation into plans for a ban there. The plans contradict the Government’s pre-election promises, and conflicts with other laws designed to protect religious freedom.

Simon Calvert, a Deputy Director at The Christian Institute, explained the dangers of copying Australia’s mistakes in the UK:

“Religious believers could undoubtedly experience the worst effects of this sort of law. As we have seen in Victoria, it won’t take long for state bodies to feel they have the right to dictate to churches what they can and cannot teach and precisely how to pray. Those who refuse to ditch the teaching of the Bible could soon find themselves at the mercy of the criminal justice system.

Banning even the Lord’s Prayer

The state of Victoria imposed a broad law to tackle ‘conversion therapy’ which took effect one year ago.

Guidance on that law explains that “not affirming someone’s gender identity” is an illegal practice; as is the refusal of parents “to support their child’s request for medical treatment that will prevent physical changes from puberty”.

The guidance has now been updated to tell Christians what they can and cannot pray and teach. Followed to its logical conclusion, the Guidance excludes even a church leader using the Lord’s Prayer with an LGBT person.

The guidance is wildly at odds with orthodox Christian beliefs:

• LGBT people are to be “reassured” that “everyone has a different path” and that they are “perfect as they are”;

• Religious leaders are carrying out an illegal act if they tell people “that their gender identity is not real”, if they say prayers that “ask for a person to not act on their attractions” or “talk about a person’s brokenness or need to repent”.

So when the Lord’s Prayer asks God to “forgive us our sins”, it defies the guidance that you cannot pray about someone’s need to repent. “Lead us not into temptation” defies the guidance that you cannot pray for a person to not act on their attractions.

Simon Calvert, a Deputy Director at The Christian Institute said:

“A whole plethora of Christian creeds and teachings would be found wanting when compared to the guidance. Because right at the heart of the Christian Gospel is a message that all people are sinners who need to repent and be forgiven, and that we all need to seek God’s help in avoiding all sorts of temptation.

“If what the official guidance says was upheld in the law courts, whole swathes of scripture could not be read with LGBT people and every church would have to rethink their hymnbooks and prayers.”

The guidance also explains that:

• It is prohibited for church leaders to warn members they will be excommunicated if they continue their same-sex relationship;[1]

• Prayer supporting a young person not to “act on their feelings of same-sex attraction” is forbidden.

Activists in the UK have said our own law should be modelled on that in Victoria.[2]

The result would be one of the most religiously repressive laws in centuries. Christians, alongside many others, would find themselves subject to spurious allegations and investigation merely for failing to follow extreme LGBT ideology.

New South Wales

In the state of New South Wales (NSW), Christians and gender-critical groups have expressed concern that proposals released for consultation emulate the State of Victoria’s repressive aims.

Details have emerged of a “secretive” consultation there, being held by its Department of Communities and Justice.

In the confidential consultation documents [3] the NSW Government appears to contradict pre-election promises that a Bill on ‘conversion therapy’ would not copy legislation in Victoria.

However news reports from NSW last week highlighted a contradiction with another piece of legislation, designed to protect religious freedom.

It has resulted in protests, since some supporters of transgender ideology do not want new protection against religious discrimination.[4] At the same time, gender-critical feminists are up in arms over the proposals. [5]

The Christian Institute’s letter to the PM explains:

“Your own Government is likely to face the same problem. It is almost certainly impossible to placate the demands of pro-ban activists whilst also protecting the freedom of religious people to live out their faith, and the freedom of parents to protect their children from radical gender ideology in their own homes.

Any legislation on ‘conversion therapy’ will likely see ordinary people facing investigation over claims that their innocent conversations were really malign attempts to ‘change or suppress’ LGBT people.

Any protections in the legislation will be attacked by activists and may be stripped out by their allies in Parliament.

Mr Calvert continued:

“The news in New South Wales sends a signal about the disarray and difficulty that faces the UK Government, should it publish its long-delayed conversion therapy ban proposals as expected in the autumn.

“Many groups oppose the proposals for a ‘conversion therapy ban’, not because they support any form of abusive practices, which they of course do not, but because there is no need for a new law.

“We know from a leaked No.10 memo, that the UK Government was previously ready to admit that genuine abuse could be tackled under existing legislation. It said that academic research it had commissioned showed “the evidence-base for further legislative measures on conversion therapy is weak”.

“The demand for a ban appears to be an attempt by groups like Stonewall and Mermaids to force the wider public to agree with their particular ideological viewpoint. This extends far beyond religious beliefs, and to other strongly-held beliefs over sex, gender, feminism and parental responsibility.

“Religious believers could undoubtedly experience the worst effects of this sort of law. As we have seen in Victoria, it won’t take long for state bodies to feel they have the right to dictate to churches what they can and cannot teach and precisely how to pray. Those who refuse to ditch the teaching of the Bible could soon find themselves at the mercy of the criminal justice system.

Notes for editors:

Read the letter from The Christian Institute to Rishi Sunak MP

See screenshots from official guidance on the Victorian Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021

• A video has been released to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Victoria Bill’s introduction. Ironically described by an Australian commentator as “a soothing bedtime story”, the softly-spoken video explains that “prayer or pastoral conversations” might be used as a disguise for attempts to “hide” a person’s LGBTQ+ identity. It concludes with a graphic of the symbols of Christianity, Judaism and Islam appended to various LGBT flags. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MTIvNbMdu4

• The Christian Institute has instructed solicitors to prepare the ground for a potential judicial review of any laws banning ‘conversion therapy’ that restrict religious freedom. This is based on legal advice received from one of the UK’s leading human rights KCs warning that an over-broad ban could criminalise the ordinary work of churches. This would put the UK in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and open the Government to legal challenge in the courts.

ENDS