Simon Calvert, Deputy Director of The Christian Institute tells us why now is the time for Christians to register their concerns about the draft bill to criminalise ‘conversion practices’.
Christians are called to speak the truth in love. But what happens when speaking the truth, offering prayer or giving pastoral advice could put you on the wrong side of the law?
That is the question churches, parents and Christians across the country must confront as Parliament scrutinises the Government’s draft ‘conversion practices’ bill. And right now, the window of opportunity is open for Christians to make their voices heard in that process.
The legislation is presented as a means of protecting people from abuse in an attempt to ‘change’ their gender identity or sexual orientation. Of course, everyone should be protected from genuine abuse, but the current law already condemns and punishes assault, harassment and other harmful behaviour. This new bill would go much further, placing ordinary conversations about sexuality and gender at risk of criminalisation.
Under the draft bill, the definition of abuse is expanded to include ‘words’, and ‘economic pressure’ and ‘emotional pressure’ are identified as potential indicators of criminality. That raises troubling questions about whether ordinary parental decisions and expressions of concern could be used as evidence against a mother or father.
Consider a parent whose teenage daughter says she wants to change her gender. The parent may have serious concerns about the long-term consequences of medical or bodily interventions. They may want to slow things down, ask difficult questions or seek professional advice.
They may express concern, or even refuse to buy an item associated with the transition their child desires, like a chest-binder, which can cause pain and have long-term effects on natural bodily development. These are perfectly reasonable judgements to make – yet there’s nothing to distinguish such actions from being captured as exerting ‘emotional’ or ‘economic’ pressure.
Labour politicians have raised alarm about how far this legislation could creep into ordinary parental responsibilities. Speaking about very similar proposals in Scotland in 2024, now-Minister Anas Sarwar said parents must be ‘allowed to do their job’ and should not have that taken away from them by the state.
This week, former health minister and sitting backbench MP Preet Kaur-Gill told the Telegraph that the bill undermined important findings of the Cass Review encouraging parents to take a ‘cautions approach’ to child transition, adding, ‘It would be wrong if a bill created to protect vulnerable people would overreach into potentially causing unnecessary censorship of important and loving conversations within families.’
The implications for churches are equally serious. Christian ministry involves far more than preaching from a pulpit on Sunday. It means praying with people who ask for prayer, listening to those in distress, helping couples work through difficulties and supporting believers who want to live according to their faith. It means opening the Bible and explaining what Christians believe about sex, marriage and human identity.
What happens if someone asks their pastor for help in resisting sexual temptation, remaining faithful to their spouse or living in accordance with their Christian convictions? If a pastor was to encourage a congregant to stay with his wife and family rather than to explore life living ‘as a woman’, could he be captured as exerting pressure on the person to change their identity?
Could a home group leader face legal consequences for a conversation between members of the group if someone is encouraged that they were not made in the ‘wrong body’? These are not trivial questions. The draft bill does not require proof that a person intended to cause harm before their words can be treated as criminally abusive, nor does it provide a defence simply because the conduct was objectively reasonable.
It would also introduce Conversion Practices Protection Orders, allowing restrictions to be imposed pre-emptively on people perceived to be at risk of meeting the threshold for criminality. The result could be a chilling effect on precisely the kinds of conversations in which people should be able to seek help freely.
Pastors might become reluctant to offer advice. Parents might fear expressing their legitimate concerns. Christians might hesitate before praying with someone who is wrestling with difficult questions. A law intended to protect vulnerable people should not leave them less able to seek support from their families and churches.
The Christian understanding of human life is rooted in the positive, hope-filled conviction that we are made by God and that his design for us is good. If the state makes certain conclusions about sexuality or gender effectively impossible to question, it risks turning a law against abuse into a restriction on freedom of conscience and expression.
The government still has an opportunity to reconsider the proposals before deciding whether to take the bill forward. Parliament’s joint committee is inviting evidence from the public, with submissions due by 5pm on Monday 16 November. The Christian Institute has produced a helpful guide on how to respond.
Christians should take that opportunity seriously. MPs and Peers need to understand what the legislation could mean in practice, not merely what its proponents say it is intended to achieve. Parents, church leaders and ordinary believers have valuable experiences and perspectives to contribute.
The Christian faith calls us to care for people, including those who are vulnerable or distressed. That care must be expressed with kindness, patience and compassion. But it must also be possible to offer guidance rooted in Christian belief without the constant fear that a well-intentioned conversation could trigger a criminal investigation.
