LAST WEEK, as the House of Commons debated a ban on conversion therapy, in response to a petition signed by more than 250,000 people, the UK Director of the Evangelical Alliance, Peter Lynas, wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson claiming that ‘Proposals to end conversion therapy risk criminalising everyday church activities’. The Open Table Network has issued this response:

The Open Table Network (OTN) represents a broad spectrum of Christians, and is not a member of the Evangelical Alliance (EA). But the EA’s letter raises concerns for all Christians, of whatever tradition. It has a potential impact on the lives of all LGBTQIA+ people, and directly affects the general perception of churches in relation to LGBTQIA+ rights.

While OTN is glad to see the EA’s engagement with the discussion, we are dismayed by their inability to issue a clear rejection of conversion therapy. We fully support the desire for clarity of definitions, for the assurance that the ability to receive spiritual support can be maintained, and that individual freedoms and religious liberty are not curtailed. But at the same time we are concerned by the misleading impression it gives, and its potential to encourage some churches to continue abusive and harmful practices under the guise of religious freedom.

In suggesting that religious or spiritual settings should be excluded from any potential ban, the EA’s letter opens churches to the accusation that Christians wish to continue with coercive and damaging behaviour that it is right to ban in any other context. To offer excluded spaces for conversion therapy to take place will create the conditions whereby harmful practices may continue unregulated. The EA’s suggestion also stands in opposition to the clear position of the Association of Christian Counsellors that is committed to ‘ending the practice of “conversion therapy” in the UK’. We fully endorse the Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK signed by the ACC along with 19 other health, counselling and psychotherapy organisations, which recognises that ‘the practice of conversion therapy, whether in relation to sexual orientation or gender identity, is unethical and potentially harmful’.[1]

The letter makes a parallel with equal marriage, which is disingenuous, for that legislation is not setting out to protect individuals from potential harm. Rather, it is designed to respect the right of Christian ministers not to go against their religious beliefs and be forced to conduct marriages for people of the same sex. The Open Table Network longs for full acceptance of same-sex marriage in all contexts, but we respect the rights of individuals to think differently where no other person is harmed by that right.

In stating that current legislative proposals could have the consequence of ‘criminalising… common church activities’, the EA’s letter uses language which is alarmist and creates the impression that attempting to ‘pray the gay away’ forms a normal, routine part of our Christian worship and service. This is patently untrue, and can only contribute to the already damaged view of the Church held by many who have no personal experience of what Christians actually do, bringing the gospel further into disrepute. We wish deeply for Christ’s church to be known and experienced as a place of genuine welcome and acceptance, not a place to be feared for the potential damage it may cause.

We fully expect that future legislation will ensure that individuals are free to seek spiritual support for their own lives and freely-made choices, and address the need to prevent the criminalisation of valid responses to an individual’s desires, including a church member’s decision to follow their own understanding of biblical teaching on sexuality. Along with the ACC, we support the provision of ‘appropriately informed and ethical practice when working with a client who wishes to explore, experiences conflict with, or is in distress regarding, their sexual orientation or gender identity’.[2]

Peter Lynas says that for ‘evangelical Christians, the teaching of the Bible is clear that sexual activity is restricted to monogamous marriage between one man and one woman’. While  such an opinion may represent the understanding of the majority of those Christians who would call themselves evangelicals, it is by no means universal. There are evangelical church leaders and Christians whose faith by every other marker would be considered evangelical, who accept equal marriage and monogamous, committed same-gender sexual relationships. We applaud their stance and efforts to present an alternative reading of Scripture to their fellow evangelicals.

Finally, and most worryingly, the EA’s letter acknowledges the role the church has sadly played historically in perpetuating stigma, discrimination and harm towards people because of their sexuality, but does so in a way that suggests that this is a thing of the past. From our pastoral practice across our network of communities in England and Wales, we are all too aware that this is simply not true. This statement reveals a deep-seated failure to appreciate both the culture and ongoing practices - present in both evangelical and other churches - that effectively present same-sex attraction as an ‘issue’, a ‘problem to be dealt with’. We witness the very real discrimination, and the deep-seated mental and spiritual anguish that this causes. 

The acceptance, availability, offer, promotion, and even imposition of different forms of conversion therapy achieve nothing - even Christian ministries involved for decades in its practice have candidly admitted this.[3] Sadly, these practices contribute to a hostile environment for LGBTQIA+ people (including within their own families), and self-loathing in those who experience conversion therapy, as well as motivating many to abandon their faith, or even end their lives.

The Open Table Network was created by, and for, LGBTQIA+ people, who have too often found churches unsafe, unwelcoming places to be. Not all churches intend to be hostile or hurtful; some have just never imagined themselves in other people’s shoes. But until churches give an equal welcome to us all, the Open Table Network will continue to help create worshipping communities where LGBTQIA+ people need not fear being themselves. Read more about how we work with local churches which host Open Table communities to keep everyone safe.

If you are affected by the EA’s letter, or by the experience of conversion therapy in your own church context, we encourage you reach out to us for support.

NOTES:

[1] Memorandum of Understanding on Conversion Therapy in the UK (October 2017)

[2] ibid.

[3] e.g. Alan Chambers, president of the world’s largest ‘ex-gay’ organisation, Exodus International, renounced the group’s position that homosexuality can be ‘cured’ in 2012.