Aus Christians unite against extreme conversion therapy law

Christians in the Australian state of New South Wales are standing against its extreme new conversion practices law, which came into effect in April.

The NSW Conversion Practices Ban Act criminalises any practice deemed to be ‘aimed’ at ‘changing or suppressing’ an individual’s ‘sexual orientation’ or ‘gender identity’. The penalty is up to five years in prison or a maximum fine of A$100,000.

On day one of the Act coming into force, the Government body responsible for overseeing the ban issued guidance targeting mainstream Christian teaching on marriage and sexual ethics. The guidance states that encouraging an individual to embrace celibacy outside of marriage — as Christians have done for millennia — or praying with a person at their request, could be deemed an attempt to change or suppress that person’s sexual orientation and therefore be unlawful. The Attorney General of NSW has even implied that silent prayer could constitute a criminal offence. 

The Sydney Anglican Synod passed a motion in September encouraging Christians to be unafraid to proclaim God’s good design for marriage and gender, and to continue to provide prayer for those seeking to live in obedience to God’s Word — even if it risks a complaint under the law. They also called on the Premier of NSW to uphold his election pledge that “an individual of their own consent seeking guidance through prayer will not be banned”. 

Sydney Archbishop Kanishka Raffe said: “I want to say this clearly and publicly to you all, that I will stand by any clergy person or church worker who finds themselves brought before a tribunal or court because of this poorly conceived law… We must not be silenced or intimidated from teaching God’s good plan for human sexuality and relationships. We will insist on the freedom to do so respectfully, but without fear, we will obey God. We can do nothing less.” 

The Presbyterian Church of NSW also passed a motion affirming its commitment to uphold biblical truth, and to continue to support and care for people struggling with their sexuality or gender.

Westminster must not follow NSW

Closer to home, the Westminster Government has promised to publish a draft ‘conversion practices’ Bill for England and Wales soon, following years of lobbying from LGBTQ+ groups like Stonewall. The Scottish Government has also asked for the legislation to apply north of the border, after its own draft Bill was savaged by leading human rights lawyers. 

In a recent open letter to the UK Equalities Minister, 24 church leaders from across Great Britain cite NSW as a warning of the dangers of legislating for an activist-approved ban. They are clear that a broad new law could “make sharing the Gospel with some people illegal”, and state that it will not be possible to draft legislation that does not infringe on parental and gospel freedoms. (You can sign the letter here.)

The push back from our brothers and sisters in NSW should encourage us to keep on fighting and making representation to those in Parliament. We know the Westminster Government has already run into difficulties in producing a draft Bill that respects basic freedoms, and therefore we must continue to make the case that new legislation in this area is not only unnecessary — it’s dangerous.