Watch our round table on the dangers of a conversion therapy ban

A few months ago, Let Us Pray hosted its first ever round table featuring official supporters Revd Calvin Robinson, Revd Dr Matthew Roberts, Dr Julie Maxwell and Dr Stuart Waiton.

Dr Waiton, a senior lecturer in Sociology and Criminology at Abertay University, said the conversion therapy ban was “the most horribly dangerous authoritarian piece of legislation by a country mile”.

He warned that the proposals would criminalise people expressing their beliefs.

Free Church of England Deacon and GB News presenter Revd Calvin Robinson said a conversion therapy ban would result in ‘outlawing conversations between parent and child and person and pastor’.

He said that if a person was struggling with their sexuality and wanted to have a conversation with their minister, the minister would be “treading on very dangerous ground” by even engaging in that conversation.

Revd Dr Matthew Roberts, Minister of Trinity Church York and former moderator of the International Presbyterian Church, labelled the ban a “trojan horse” to outlaw Christian morality on sex and relationships.

He said what people say when they argue for a ban is not the same as the actual concrete proposals that are put forward.

Dr Julie Maxwell, a community paediatrician and youth worker, raised concerns about the impact of a ban on parents.

She said parents guide their children on many issues such as sleeping, eating and what to watch on television, and that sex and relationships is one of the most important conversations that parents can have with their children. But she added that it would be “a really really worrying situation” if they are afraid to do that in case they are accused of ‘conversion therapy’.

You can watch the full round table here.