Government says conversion therapy has 'no place in society' after being urged to drop plans to ban it

Church leaders say they are worried a ban would impact on their ability to offer ‘casual conversations’ and ‘private prayer’

The Scottish Government says it is committed to bringing forward a bill to ban conversion therapy.

The Scottish Government says conversion therapy has “no place in our society”, as church leaders urge ministers to scrap plans to ban it.

Conversion therapy is any intervention which seeks to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

There is no law making conversion therapy illegal in Scotland, but some of the more extreme forms of this practice such as corrective rape or electric shock therapy are illegal under other legislation.

The Scottish Government has previously said it wants to bring forward a bill banning all forms of conversion therapy by the end of 2023.

However a group of church leaders have written to Equalities Minister Emma Roddick urging the government to drop the bill, as they are worried it will stop them from offering “casual conversations” and “gentle, non-coercive prayer”.

They say the existing laws are sufficient to deal with abusive conversion therapy practices.

Reverend Dr William Philip from The Tron Church in Glasgow, one of the signatories of this letter, said: “The Scottish Government’s planned ‘conversion therapy’ bill would see parents and churches in the firing line simply for daring to disagree with LGBT+ orthodoxy.

“The LGBT+ activists behind this bill want to target not abuse and coercion - which are already illegal - but ‘private prayer’ and ‘casual conversations’ if the content does not affirm their ideology.”

He added when “religious freedom is lost, other freedoms disappear very rapidly thereafter”.

Reverend Stephen Allison from Kiltarlity Free Church in Beauly, who has also signed this letter, added: “All of us would agree that many of the practices described as ‘conversion therapy’ are abusive and have no place in the church.

“However, those abusive practices are already illegal and so advocates of the ban must be seeking to criminalise something more.

“Central to the Christian faith is the all for people - all people - to turn to Christ for forgiveness from sin.

“It is what shapes our belief and practices as Christian.

“But those pushing for a ‘conversion therapy’ bill are clear that they want a ban to include Christian teaching on sin and repentance.”

He added: “It also threatens parents’ ability to have loving conversations with their children about sexuality and gender.”

The Christian Institute has previously said it is preparing the ground for legal action against the government if ministers change the law on conversion therapy.

However the equalities minister says the government is committed to this legislation and to supporting survivors of conversion therapy.

She told The Scotsman: “Conversion practices are abhorrent and have no place in our society.

“We are committed to introducing legislation to end these practices in Scotland and are continuing to support survivors.

“We have not yet tabled the details of our proposed bill and we will shortly launch a consultation on our proposals.

“Anybody with concerns will have the opportunity for full engagement and the analysis of responses will be independent, fair and impartial.”