Looking back on 2024
Policies, legislation and ideologies which run counter to biblical ethics are being promoted throughout our society by people in positions of influence – whether in government, education, medicine, the media or elsewhere.
In the past year, the CI has challenged attempts to introduce new laws banning so-called conversion therapy, defended the preaching of the Gospel in public, advocated for tighter gambling restrictions, argued against plans to clamp down on free speech and assisted hundreds of Christians in need of expert advice on education or other legal matters.
We have sought to be a Christian influence in a secular world – and endeavoured to help our supporters to be one too.
Shoulders of giants
This year was one of significant change at The Christian Institute, as we said goodbye to two men who spent their lives in God’s service. Our founder and Director Colin Hart and co-founder and first Chairman John Burn were both called home to the Lord.
Colin passed away in March aged 60 following a heart attack. He established the Institute over 30 years ago alongside John, who died in October aged 86.
Both believed more Christians needed to be an influence on the world around them, and they worked tirelessly to educate and equip believers to do just that. They are greatly missed by the Institute’s staff, and its thousands of supporters.
In July, after a four-month recruitment process, Ciarán Kelly, who joined the Institute in 2014, took on the responsibility of leading the CI as its new Director. Our Chairman, Revd Dr Richard Turnbull, who took up his post when John retired in 2021, said there was no one better suited to lead the Institute through the challenges ahead.
General Election
A new Government was elected in July. The Labour Party won a sizeable majority with 34 per cent of the vote.
In the run-up, the Institute briefed its supporters on where the parties stood on our issues. Our 48-page guide to the election encouraged Christians to pray before casting their votes as responsible Christian citizens.
Legal Defence Fund
In January it was announced that street preacher Angus Cameron received £15,000 in compensation and legal costs after he was wrongfully arrested in Glasgow over a ‘hate-crime’ incident.
Mr Cameron was arrested and unlawfully detained for an alleged breach of the peace with homophobic aggravation. Police Scotland admitted no crime had been committed, and, following the CI’s intervention, it deleted the record against his name.
Of course, such highly public cases are only the tip of a very big iceberg. Most of our work happens discreetly, by providing practical advice to help churches, Christian charities and individuals avoid legal disputes.
Conversion Therapy
One of the most pressing issues of 2024 was the ongoing effort from LGBT activists to ban so-called conversion therapy.
In January the Institute threatened the Scottish Government with legal action if it endangered churches by pursuing a new ‘conversion practices’ law. Human rights lawyer Aidan O’Neill KC called the proposed law “jellyfish legislation” – impossible to grasp, and containing “a sting in the tail in the form of criminal sanction of up to 7 years and unlimited fines”. Later in the year, the SNP shelved its plans in favour of a Westminster Bill, explaining to activists that it did not wish to risk a judicial review.
In February the House of Lords raised concerns about Baroness Burt’s Private Member’s Bill, which sought to outlaw attempts to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The following month, Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP’s ‘conversion practices’ Bill ran out of time after being strongly opposed across the political spectrum. Russell-Moyle wanted to impose unlimited fines on people who intend to change someone’s sexual orientation, or change a person to or from being transgender.
Following the General Election, new Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was told that religious illiteracy on sexual ethics and gender is fuelling “unwarranted hostility” toward Bible-believing churches. Despite the warning, the Government included a ban on so-called conversion therapy in the King’s Speech, which laid out its legislative agenda for this parliamentary session.
Assisted suicide
In March, Sir Keir Starmer pledged that if he became Prime Minister, he would set aside time for a parliamentary debate on assisted suicide.
In November MPs voted to abandon end-of-life protections for vulnerable people by supporting Kim Leadbeater’s dangerous Private Member’s Bill. Despite many powerful speeches against her proposals, MPs backed them by 330 votes to 275. The Bill is now at Committee Stage, which is intended to offer additional scrutiny.
Abortion
At the end of February, Christian MPs slammed an attempt to hijack the Government’s Criminal Justice Bill to decriminalise abortion up to birth. The then Conservative MP Miriam Cates warned that removing sanctions for women who abort their child after the 24-week limit would lead to more late-term abortions.
In April the Scottish Parliament backed proposals to introduce censorship zones banning prayer and offers of help to pregnant women outside abortion centres. The law was passed in June and took effect in September.
During the summer, pro-life campaigner Isabel Vaughan-Spruce received thirteen thousand pounds and an apology from the police after being wrongfully arrested for silently praying outside an abortion clinic. The Director of March for Life UK had been arrested twice by West Midlands Police for praying inside Birmingham council’s abortion ‘censorship zone’.
But in October, army veteran Adam Smith-Connor was convicted for silently praying in a ‘censorship zone’ around an abortion centre in Bournemouth. It came just ahead of censorship zones banning prayer and offers of help to pregnant women outside abortion centres coming into force across England and Wales at the end of the month.
The annual March for Life in London was attended this year by more than eight thousand people, more than any previous year, with banners and talks around the theme “Abortion isn’t healthcare”.
Transgenderism
In April, NHS England agreed to review its trans policies for children and adults in light of the Cass Review’s final report. Dr Hilary Cass found that giving trans drugs to children is based on “weak evidence”, and urged the NHS to review its use of cross-sex hormones and ensure children receive a holistic assessment of their needs.
June saw the introduction of a temporary ban on private clinics prescribing experimental puberty-blocking drugs to gender-confused young people in Great Britain.
NHS services across the UK have also stopped routinely prescribing the drugs to under-18s who think they are the opposite sex, but in August NHS England announced it will begin a clinical trial of puberty-blocking drugs early next year among plans to overhaul its gender services for children.
This followed a High Court judgment upholding the last Government’s temporary ban on puberty blockers. Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced in December that the ban is now in place ‘indefinitely’.
During September, it was revealed a record number of people in the UK applied to change legal sex last year. The Ministry of Justice reported that the Gender Recognition Panel received 1,397 applications between 2023 and 2024, over a thousand of which were granted.
Marriage
A call to introduce no-fault divorce in Northern Ireland received almost universal backing from Stormont in May.
Despite warnings of the serious social consequences of amending existing legislation, only one MLA opposed a motion calling for liberalisation.
In July, proposals to allow specific services that ‘celebrate and affirm’ same-sex relationships were backed by the Church of England. A trial of the services is expected to begin next year.
Justin Welby announced his resignation as the Archbishop of Canterbury in November, after the Makin review held him personally and morally responsible for failing to ensure a series of child sex abuse cases were properly investigated. Just weeks earlier, he had ignored calls to resign after publicly abandoning the church’s teaching on marriage and sexual ethics.
Gambling
In July The Christian Institute called on the new Government to prioritise gambling reform for the sake of those exploited by betting companies. Director Ciarán Kelly asked Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to restrict gambling advertising, impose limits on online stakes, and hold the industry to account for the exposure of under-18s to gambling.
Two months later, the Gambling Minister Baroness Twycross responded with reassurances that the Government recognised the harm that gambling can cause, and that it is “committed to strengthening the protections for those at risk”. In November, it announced that online slots stakes will be limited, and that a £100 million statutory levy will be placed on the gambling industry, which it said would ‘support research, raise awareness and reduce the stigma around gambling-related harm’.
As the year drew to a close, a petition signed by more than 125,000 people called on the Prime Minister to ban gambling adverts in football. It follows research showing problem gambling among children has more than doubled in the last year.
Free speech
In May the Liberal Democrats were reported to the Equality and Human Rights Commission following allegations that former BBC journalist David Campanale was “driven out from his democratically elected position” as a parliamentary candidate over his Christian views. LGBT activists had objected to his stated intention to vote according to his conscience.
The following month, evangelist Franklin Graham shared the Gospel with more than 7,000 people at a Glasgow venue that had previously cancelled the event because of his mainstream Christian beliefs on marriage and sexual ethics. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association had sued the venue, and others that had cancelled his bookings, and following the successful outcome, Graham said it was a victory for all Christians and churches across the UK.
In October, Labour’s Faith Minister Lord Khan admitted that a controversial definition of Islamophobia adopted by his party is “not in line” with equality laws, amid widespread concerns about its impact on free speech. The controversial definition says Islamophobia is “rooted in racism” and “targets expressions of Muslimness”.
Parental freedom
A large survey published in April revealed that the majority of British adults oppose a ban on parents lightly smacking their children – 60 per cent of those polled did not think parents who smack their children should be criminalised for doing so.
The Institute’s Simon Calvert said the law already protects children from abuse, and that any change would see innocent parents dragged through the criminal justice system.
Prostitution
Former SNP minister Ash Regan called for Scotland’s prostitution laws to be overhauled to better protect vulnerable women and girls. The Alba MSP is seeking support for a Bill which would criminalise the purchase of sex and help women leave prostitution.
The year ahead
In 2025, many of these issues are likely to continue to need our expertise, and we expect to spend much of our time campaigning against the dangerous moves to legalise assisted suicide and introduce a sweeping new law banning conversion therapy.
Thank you to everyone who has joined with us in being a Christian influence throughout 2024. Whether writing to your elected representatives, responding to a consultation, or getting involved with your child’s school, it makes a big difference. Your prayers and support have been invaluable to us in this challenging year. We give thanks to God and trust him to provide for us, and for you, in the year ahead.