One of the ongoing fights being pursued by the LGBT community is that campaign against "conversion therapy."
According to activists, it's a scheme to brainwash LGBT people using coercion, even physical treatments, into leaving their chosen LGBT lifestyle.
For those who endorse the practice, it's not "conversion" at all, it's simply talk therapy that gives information to those in the LGBT lifestyle who are not comfortable with it, who want to change, who actually seek counseling to help them do that.
The fight has been going on for several years in multiple countries. In the U.S., some of the anti-therapy campaigns have succeeded; others have not, based on freedom of speech, freedom of association and other constitutional rights.
The fight also has engulfed the United Kingdom, and it is there that the last shot has been fired by pro-LGBT ideologues.
A newly published study, "Conversion Practices in Northern Ireland," was released to try to influence policy makers. It claims "conversion" therapy is always bad and should be banned.
Yet the study is "useless," according to the Christian Institute, as the scientists doing the study took information from only 10 people.
That means, the CI said, it lacks "any kind of academic rigour."
The study comes from the Department of Communities which commissioned a pro-LGBT group, the Rainbow Project, to deliver an assessment.
A proposal that would be involved could "criminalize" churches in Northern Ireland for offering moral guidance or counseling on the issue.
"The Christian Institute has previously warned the Stormont Executive that it will take legal action if proposals interfere with Christian freedom," the organization explained.
It continued, "The report admits that barbaric practices like 'electric shock treatment' have not taken place in NI for half a century. Instead it features various examples of mainstream Christian beliefs and practice described as 'conversion practices' without any critique from the researchers. The first example given is of someone who participated in 'prayer, Bible studies and teaching.'"
It also references "imprisonment," but that already is illegal under NI law.
"Others detail situations that could never be criminalized, such as conversations in the supermarket discouraging gender transition," the CI said.
The critique of the pro-LGBT report said, "The LGBT groups leading the project appear to have struggled to recruit participants despite extensive social media campaigns. In the end some of those who took part were 'recruited through the researchers’ networks.'"
CI acting director Ciaran Kelly explained, "In an independent legal opinion for The Christian Institute, Jason Coppel KC is clear that the sort of 'conversion therapy' law being called for by LGBT activists is incompatible with NI’s human rights obligations."
He added, "We wrote to the Minister for Communities in June 2021 providing this legal advice, making it clear that we 'will not hesitate, where appropriate, to seek a judicial review' if proposals from the Department interfere with the ordinary work of churches.
"This study is useless. It lacks any kind of academic rigour and should never be used to shape government policy. By its own admission, it is not representative of the NI public and includes no literature review. All we have are selective odds and ends from conversations with a handful of people. It is impossible to take seriously."
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