Support for a ‘conversion therapy’ bill collapses among voters when shown how it could “criminalise pastors and parents”, according to new polling.
Christian groups have warned that pastoral conversations could lead to prosecutions and a prison sentence of up to five years under the draft Conversion Practices Bill.
The government has said its plans will outlaw people from trying to suppress or change a person’s sexual identity or sexual orientation, to protect against “coercion or abuse”. Ministers maintain that it will not target regular parenting or faith groups.
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of voters said people should be able to express non-coercive religious views without fear of prosecution, according to the Whitestone Insight poll for The Christian Institute, which surveyed more than 4,200 UK adults.
Support for the draft legislation among all adults falls from 51% to 3% when presented with scenarios lawyers for the organisation believe are possible under the bill, such as “someone who regrets transgender surgery discouraging others from following the same path” or “a same-sex attracted person advocating celibacy”.
Support more than halves if parents are not protected from criminal charges for refusing to use pronouns associated with the opposite sex for their child, or for withholding consent for their child to undergo medical transition.
Ciaran Kelly, director at the Christian Institute, told Premier Christian News: “The bill, as written, rides roughshod over well-established human rights, private family life, religious freedom, freedom of expression. It is a dreadful, dreadful bill. And don’t let anybody fool you into saying, ‘this is about dealing with abuse, and we need to deal with abuse.’ Things that are abusive are already illegal.”
Kelly pointed to Victoria, Australia, often championed by advocates for a ban, where new laws have told church leaders to affirm people for being “perfect” the way they are.
At a parliamentary hearing scrutinising the draft legislation on Monday, Christian campaigner and Stop Conversion Therapy Coalition founder Jane Ozanne outlined her support for the measures.
She said: “Prayer goes to the heart of this. I speak as a Christian; I speak as someone with a deep love of prayer. But not all prayer is healthy or good. In my case, it caused me, sadly, after 20 years of seeking out prayer, to end up in hospital fighting for my life because my body couldn’t take the strain of the constant messaging that who I was was unacceptable.”
A call for evidence has been issued by the committee considering the draft bill, which closes at 5 pm on Monday 16 November.