Pray away the gay: mainline Protestant religious leaders’ responses to the conversion therapy ban in Canada

Abstract

The purpose of this research study was to explore how mainline Protestant religious leaders are responding to the conversion therapy ban in Canada. In 2021, Bill C-4: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy) received royal assent and amended the Criminal Code to ban conversion therapy in Canada. This includes attempts to repress or change an individual’s sexual identity or gender expression to heterosexual or cisgender (Parliament of Canada, 2021). Given the religious foundations of conversion therapy (Kinitz et al., 2021) this study aimed to answer the research question, "How are mainline Protestant religious leaders responding to the conversion therapy ban in Canada?”. To answer this research question, 12 semi-structured qualitative interviews were completed with religious leaders from the Anglican Church of Canada and the United Church of Canada currently practicing in the province of Ontario. These participants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling methods. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Participants indicated that they were in favour of the conversion therapy ban due to their acceptance of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, the identified strengths of the ban, the harm that conversion therapy causes, and their 2SLGBTQ+ affirming religious beliefs including scripture. Participants expressed concern over the efficacy and enforcement of the conversion therapy ban and offered suggestions for potential next steps following the conversion therapy ban. The findings of this research have potential implications for the literature on conversion therapy, Social Work practice, and mainline Protestant religious leaders.