In April the New South Wales Conversion Practices Ban Act came into effect. Its stated aim is “to ban practices directed to changing or suppressing the sexual orientation or gender identity of individuals”. The reaction from the churches has been mixed.

Churches of a more “progressive” bent broadly welcome the ban. More-Biblical churches are concerned – although some leaders think that it will not make much difference. They argue that prayer is not banned. The legislation explicitly states that general religious teachings, sermons, private prayer or personal reflection are not considered conversion practices and are not illegal. For example, expressing religious beliefs or seeking spiritual guidance through prayer is permitted.

However, that is not the whole story. The government-funded Anti-Discrimination NSW put out a video which explicitly stated that prayer is amongst the practices that are unlawful. To pray that someone would have their sexual orientation changed, or their sexual desires suppressed, would be illegal.

The justification for this is that the law focuses on practices that cause “substantial harm” and are directed at altering someone’s identity. This includes consensual and private prayer.

Engaging in conversion practices, including harmful prayer-based efforts, can lead to up to five years’ imprisonment if they result in significant harm. Taking someone out of NSW for such practices carries a three-year maximum penalty.

If anyone doubts that this is imposition of a new religious ideology, then the Anti-Discrimination video should remove those doubts. It says that the government are doing this because they now know that all forms of sexuality are “perfectly normal and valid” and those who disagree are being “untruthful and harmful”. All “people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, should feel welcome and valued and be able to live authentically and with pride”. The government states that the laws in NSW protect people’s rights to have religious beliefs, but “people also have the right to be protected from harm”. Harm is never defined, but it is clear that if any LGBTQIA+ activist says that they are being harmed by religious belief – it is the religious belief that will lose.

This Conversion Practices Ban only refers to some conversion practices. For example, there is no attempt to ban conversion practices associated with someone becoming transgender. Genital mutilation and puberty blockers will still be permitted as children convert from one gender to another.

The progressives in Australia think that they are on the right side of history in declaring that men can become women – whilst much of the rest of the Western world is waking up to how nonsensical that is. Our governing elites are currently still in the fantasy world of progressive ideology. Pray that they would be woken up!