{"id":568713,"date":"2021-06-19T18:07:10","date_gmt":"2021-06-19T22:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=568713"},"modified":"2021-06-19T18:07:12","modified_gmt":"2021-06-19T22:07:12","slug":"christian-charity-alarmed-by-push-to-criminalize-gentle-non-coercive-prayer-for-lgbt-people-in-u-k","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/christian-charity-alarmed-by-push-to-criminalize-gentle-non-coercive-prayer-for-lgbt-people-in-u-k\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian Charity Alarmed By Push To Criminalize \u2018Gentle, Non-Coercive Prayer\u2019 For LGBT People In U.K."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchristian-charity-alarmed-by-push-to-criminalize-gentle-non-coercive-prayer-for-lgbt-people-in-u-k%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=568713&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1321162277.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"  style=\"display:none\"><\/div>\n<p>A Christian charity in the United Kingdom is raising the alarm regarding a proposal to add even \u201cgentle, non-coercive prayer\u201d for LGBT people to the\u00a0country\u2019s ban on conversion therapy.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christian.org.uk\/who-we-are\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Christian Institute<\/a>, which is a U.K.-based charity that\u00a0exists for \u201cthe furtherance and promotion of the Christian religion in the United Kingdom,\u201d issued a Thursday <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christian.org.uk\/news\/conversion-therapy-activist-calls-for-ban-to-include-gentle-prayer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">statement<\/a> in response to Jayne Ozanne, a prominent lesbian Anglican and activist who has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pinknews.co.uk\/2021\/04\/13\/boris-johnson-conversion-therapy-ban-churches-evangelical-alliance-letter\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">called<\/a> even for prayer to be criminalized if it does not affirm LGBT behavior.<\/p>\n<p>As The Christian Post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/uk-christian-group-alarmed-by-demands-to-add-prayer-to-conversion-therapy-ban.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">reported<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"33.869606903164\">\n<p><em>Supporting the ban, David Walker, the bishop of\u00a0Manchester, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/jun\/09\/conversion-practices-church-of-england-bishop-backs-prosecution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">told<\/a> the Guardian earlier this month, \u201cWhere activity has harmed someone, the person who has caused the harm should face prosecution.\u201d He added that activity should include prayer aimed at changing someone\u2019s sexual orientation.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>However, Walker clarified that he was not referring to \u201cgentle, non-coercive prayer, but where there is a level of power imbalance and a level of force.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Ozanne, who\u2019s also pushing for full acceptance of same-sex marriage and transgenderism in the Church of England, responded to Walker\u2019s clarification, saying, \u201cI\u2019m very grateful to Bishop David for his clear support for a ban, although I would strongly refute that \u2018gentle non-coercive prayer\u2019 should be allowed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>She added, \u201cAll prayer that seeks to change or suppress someone\u2019s innate sexuality or gender identity is deeply damaging and causes immeasurable harm, as it comes from a place \u2014 no matter how well-meaning \u2014 that says who you are is unacceptable and wrong.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Though he has <a href=\"https:\/\/news.trust.org\/item\/20210414155540-j6cy8\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">promised<\/a> to keep prayer out of any conversion therapy ban, The Christian Institute sent a letter to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to express their concern about Ozanne\u2019s demand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOzanne claimed \u2018all prayer that seeks to change or suppress someone\u2019s innate sexuality or gender identity is deeply damaging and causes immeasurable harm,\u2019\u201d the Institute explained in the press release.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile the Institute does not oppose a ban that protects people from harmful pseudo-medical practices, the idea that \u2018gentle non-coercive prayer\u2019 should be included in a list of illegal actions is alarming,\u201d the group told the prime minister. \u201cIn any event, it would violate the human rights of believers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis view is confirmed by a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christian.org.uk\/human-rights-implications-of-proposals-to-ban-conversion-therapy\/\">legal opinion from Jason Coppel QC<\/a>, one of the UK\u2019s leading human rights lawyers, which says a conversion therapy ban encompassing ordinary prayer \u2018would be likely to violate Convention rights,\u2019\u201d they continued.<\/p>\n<p>The letter to Johnson went on:<\/p>\n<blockquote readability=\"11\">\n<p><em>Those pushing for the ban to include ordinary prayer seem to attribute the worst possible motives to those of us who hold different theological beliefs from them. They are not willing to listen to mainstream Christian groups or to their concerns.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Now they have gone a step further by stating that the legislation should cover not only practices they consider coercive but all forms of prayer, no matter how mild.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThis latest remark from Jayne Ozanne is very revealing,\u201d said Simon Calvert, who is Deputy Director for Public Affairs at The Christian Institute. \u201cIt shows the focus here is not about protecting people from genuinely abusive behavior. It\u2019s about criminalizing mainstream theology that campaigners on the fringes of the church don\u2019t agree with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Christian Institute <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christian.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/conversion-therapy-update-may21.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">noted<\/a> in a recent brochure that such a ban is already in place in the Australian state of Victoria, where even pastoral advice and prayer that fails to affirm homosexuality and transgender behavior is a criminal offense that carries a potential \u00a3100,000 fine and 10-year prison sentence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe state Attorney General said church ministers will be re-educated by the state to prevent them breaking the law,\u201d they said. \u201cBritish Conservative MP Alicia Kearns says: \u2018The\u00a0model that\u2019s been passed\u00a0in Victoria is a good one.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related<\/strong>: <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/watch-new-documentary-sheds-light-on-gender-identity-industry-pushing-trans-surgeries-on-minors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WATCH: New Documentary Sheds Light On Gender Identity Industry Pushing Trans Surgeries On Minors<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><i>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><i>member<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Christian charity in the United Kingdom is raising the alarm regarding a proposal to add even \u201cgentle, non-coercive prayer\u201d for LGBT people to the\u00a0country\u2019s ban on conversion therapy.The Christian &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2280786,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1321162277.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Christian Charity Alarmed By Push To Criminalize \u2018Gentle, Non-Coercive Prayer\u2019 For LGBT People In U.K.","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-568713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/GettyImages-1321162277.jpg?w=1200&h=800&ixlib=react-9.0.3","fifu_image_alt":"Christian Charity Alarmed By Push To Criminalize \u2018Gentle, Non-Coercive Prayer\u2019 For LGBT People In U.K.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=568713"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/568713\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2280786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=568713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=568713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=568713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}