Church leaders urge Scottish Government to drop planned ‘conversion therapy’ Bill

Leading clerics from different denominations have written to the Scottish Government urging it to drop its plans to bring forward a Bill banning so-called conversion therapy. More than 1500 others have already signed the letter, including over 400 church leaders and pastoral workers.

The Scottish Government wants to outlaw ‘practices’ that seek to change, suppress or inhibit someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. ‘Conversion therapy/practices’ is a deliberately broad term chosen by LGBT activists. It covers grotesque illegal assaults such as ‘corrective rape’ and abusive quack medical practices like electric shock ‘therapy’, which are illegal already. But it also covers “casual conversations”, “gentle, non-coercive prayer”, and even “depending on your parents’ ‘consent’” to change gender.

The letter to Holyrood’s Equalities Minister Emma Roddick is clear that existing law is sufficient to deal with abusive practices, but the proposed legislation will go much further and outlaw innocent, everyday church activities including people praying for their friends.

The letter is appended to this release.

Co-signatory Reverend Dr William Philip commented:

“The Scottish Government’s planned ‘conversion therapy’ Bill would see parents and churches in the firing line simply for daring to disagree with LGBT orthodoxy. The LGBT activists behind this Bill want to target not abuse and coercion – which are already illegal – but ‘private prayer’ and ‘casual conversations’ if the content does not affirm their ideology.

“What we see in Victoria, Australia, is that once legislators start down this route of outlawing so-called ‘conversion therapy’, very soon churches are being told by the State how they can pray and what they can and cannot teach. As history shows, when such religious freedom is lost, other freedoms disappear very rapidly thereafter.”

Co-signatory Reverend Stephen Allison commented:

“I am pleased to be able to join with other Christian ministers from a diverse range of churches to express our collective concerns about a proposed ban on conversion practices. All of us would agree that many of the practices described as ‘conversion therapy’ are abusive and have no place in the church. However, those abusive practices are already illegal and so advocates of the ban must be seeking to criminalise something more.

“Central to the Christian faith is the call for people – all people – to turn to Christ for forgiveness from sin. It is what shapes our belief and practice as Christians. But those pushing for a ‘conversion therapy’ Bill are clear that they want a ban to include Christian teaching on sin and repentance.

“It is our responsibility as ministers to help our congregations live for Christ in all areas of life. The proposed legislation threatens to silence the legitimate prayerful and pastoral support that we can give to those questioning sexual ethics and gender. It also threatens parents’ ability to have loving conversations with their children about sexuality and gender.”

 Notes for Editors:

• • The Scottish Government has promised to publish a consultation imminently on ‘ending conversion practices’.
• • The Scottish Government’s Expert Advisory Group on Ending Conversion Practices published a report in October last year, suggesting:

  o that church ministers who uphold traditional teaching on sexuality and gender be re-educated by the State or be barred from the ministry;

  o the removal of charitable status and the right to hire buildings from churches it deems non-compliant;

  o that parents who discourage their LGBT-identifying children from pursuing homosexual relationships or trans identities could have their children taken away.

• • The Expert Advisory Group’s recommendations go even further than Victoria, Australia, where a parent refusing consent for their child to take puberty blockers is unlawful ‘conversion therapy’.
• • The Christian Institute has produced a booklet explaining why Victoria’s “gold standard” conversion therapy ban is not a model that any democratic government should follow.
• • In a legal opinion commissioned by The Christian Institute, top KC Aidan O’Neill warns that recommendations made by the Scottish Government’s Expert Advisory Group on Ending Conversion Practices “… would have the undoubted effect of criminalising much mainstream pastoral work of churches, mosques and synagogues and temples”.
   
  He also says: “Prayers and sermons would be criminalised if their content did not conform to the new State requirements only to affirm, validate and support the identity and lived experience expressed and stated by an individual (but never to question or raise concerns about an individual’s expression of their sexuality, or their assertion of a ‘gender identity’ or ‘gender expression’ different from that associated with their birth sex).”

• • In February 2022, The Christian Institute instructed lawyers to write to the Scottish Government, preparing the ground for a judicial review if its conversion therapy law tramples on human rights.

 

7 December 2023

Dear Ms Roddick,

We write as church leaders and pastoral workers to express our concern about plans for a legislative ban on so-called conversion therapy.

As Christians, we are commanded by Christ to love our neighbour. Therefore, we strongly oppose abusive and coercive practices and we support the use of existing law to protect all people from verbal and physical abuse.

Our concern is that the kind of conversion therapy law which the Scottish Government is being advised to introduce is not about protecting people from abuse. It is about targeting the orthodox belief and practice of Christian churches.

Holyrood’s Equalities Committee and the Government’s Expert Advisory Group on Ending Conversion Practices both called on the Government to model its legislation on the conversion therapy ban currently in force in the Australian state of Victoria. The campaigners whom the Scottish Government is seeking to satisfy refer to the Victoria ban as the “gold standard”.

The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission is one of the bodies responsible for enforcement of the ban. In guidance issued to church leaders, the Commission specifies state-sanctioned language for prayers and pastoral conversations. It requires that religious people must only pray in a way that affirms everyone as “perfect as they are”. It says that prayers that “talk about a person’s brokenness or need to repent”, or which “ask for a person to not act on their attractions”, are harmful and therefore likely to be illegal.

No sincere Christian may in good conscience deny the historic faith in this way. It is a central tenet of the Christian faith that every human being is not “perfect as they are”. In the Lord’s Prayer we ask God “to forgive us our sins” and “lead us not into temptation”. Praying the Lord’s Prayer with a person who identifies as gay or trans in Victoria could – under the kind of ban you are being asked to legislate – lead to an accusation of unlawful conversion therapy.

This demonstrates the problem that the Scottish Government will face should it push ahead with plans for a Bill on ‘ending conversion practices’. It is not possible to satisfy the demands of pro-ban activists whilst also protecting basic religious freedoms.

We do not think the Government will be able to avoid criminalising aspects of the ordinary work of churches and we urge you not to proceed with a Bill.

Yours sincerely,

Reverend Dr William Philip
The Tron Church, Glasgow
Chairman of Cornhill Scotland

Reverend Stephen Allison
Kiltarlity Free Church, Beauly (Free Church of Scotland)
Public Engagement Coordinator for the Free Church of Scotland

Reverend David Scott
Inshes East Church of Scotland, Inverness (Church of Scotland)

Reverend Paul L. Rees
Charlotte Chapel, Edinburgh (Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches)

Pastor Dr Jeremy McQuoid
Deeside Christian Fellowship Church, Aberdeen
Chairman of Keswick Ministries

Reverend Brian More
Newton Mearns Baptist Church, Newton Mearns (Baptist Union of Scotland)