Church Leaders Warn Starmer Conversion Therapy Law Could Become Anti-christian Charter

Labour is expected to railroad its plans for “a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices”, with sources saying we could see legislation within the first 100 days.
Officials say that by including ‘safeguards’ similar to those found in former Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle’s unsuccessful Private Member’s Bill, Labour will be able to produce workable legislation. But independent legal advice is clear that the supposed safeguards in the Russell-Moyle Bill are worthless and simply won’t protect the ordinary work of churches.
Gay and trans people are already rightly protected from verbal and physical abuse by existing law. An extension of the current law will see innocent, harmless behaviour brought within the scope of a criminal ban.

‘Conversion therapy’ is an elastic term. It is being used to conflate mainstream, traditional Christian teaching on sexuality and gender with abuse.

Activists are no longer simply calling for a ban on already illegal egregious practices. They say prayer and pastoral conversations must be criminalised too.

Parents who dissuade their children from irreversible gender treatment or inappropriate sexual experimentation are also at risk under the Government’s planned legislation.

Co-signatory Revd Dr Matthew Roberts commented:

“Christianity is essential to the history and culture of Britain, and remains a vital voice for the wellbeing of our society. Yet increasingly it seems as though some in Government are barely aware of the Church’s existence and almost wholly ignorant of what Christians believe and why. We very much hope that this new Government will recognise the vital contribution of Christians to Britain and will not (accidentally perhaps) legislate against them.”

Co-signatory Revd Graham Nicholls commented:

“We want to be prayerful and supporting of the new Labour Government but have grave concerns about their proposals for a so-called conversion therapy ban. New legislation which will not make any difference to genuine abuse, which is already illegal, but will open the door to spurious accusations to be made against those who want the freedom to live out their Christian faith, and parents and pastors who uphold the Bible’s teaching on matters of sexuality and gender.”

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Text of Full Letter:

5 July 2024

Dear Sir Keir Starmer,

Congratulations on becoming Prime Minister. Please be assured of our prayers for you and your Government.

We write as Christian ministers to express our concern at the lack of religious literacy in British public life and the unwarranted hostility this can breed towards those in Bible-believing churches like ours.

One of the major presenting issues is the way people talk about a legislative ban on so-called conversion therapy. Campaigners often imply that expressing mainstream, traditional Christian beliefs on sexuality or gender identity in pastoral conversations is, inherently, a form of ‘conversion therapy’.

Some even want a conversion therapy ban to cover gentle, non-coercive prayer. This raises the alarming prospect of police and prosecutors having to decide whether someone has prayed ‘the wrong kind of prayer’.

Conversations between parents and their children are also at risk from this broad definition of conversion therapy. This would affect gender-critical parents, not just those who are Christian.

We would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with you to discuss our concerns and to explore how we can help fill the religious literacy gap and help the Government better understand Christians and their beliefs.

Yours sincerely,

Revd Dr Thomas Brand
Ministry Director of the Evangelical Fellowship of Congregational Churches
Chairman of the Greater Love Declaration

Revd Graham Nicholls
Christ Church Haywards Heath
Director of Affinity Church Network

Revd Dr Ian Paul
St Nic’s Church Nottingham
Member of the Archbishops’ Council, Church of England

Revd Dr Matthew Roberts
Trinity Church York
Former Moderator of Synod, International Presbyterian Church

Rt Revd Andy Lines
Presiding Bishop of Anglican Network in Europe

Revd Dr Ian Hamilton
President of Westminster Seminary UK

Revd Bill James
Principal of London Seminary

Revd Dave Gobbett
Highfields Church Cardiff

Revd Raymond Brown
East London Tabernacle Baptist Church

Revd David Pfeiffer
Whaddon Road Evangelical Presbyterian Church
Moderator of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales

Revd Paul A. Eddy
FRSA, MCIPR, MPRCA
24 Church Green, Stanford in the Vale
Oxfordshire SN7 8HU T: +44 1367 710267
M: +44 7923 653781 E: paul@pauleddy.uk

CHURCH LEADERS WARN STARMER CONVERSION THERAPY LAW COULD BECOME ANTI-CHRISTIAN CHARTER

Press Release

Issued on behalf of the Signatories
8 July 2024

• Church leaders fear two-thousand-year-old Christian beliefs could be criminalised within the first 100 days of the new Government;
• Activists want a conversion therapy law to target ordinary Christian practice;
• Gender-critical parents are also likely to be caught.

Leading church leaders representing more than 1300 churches have written to the new Prime Minister expressing their “concern at the lack of religious literacy in British public life and the unwarranted hostility this can breed towards those in Bible-believing churches”.

This is evident, the letter explains, in “the way people talk about a legislative ban on so-called conversion therapy”.