Counseling Bans in Canada and West Lafayette Threaten the Free Speech of Pastors and Counselors

January 21, 2022

In today's sensationalized news environment, most of the stories we read or hear about rarely deserve our immediate and undivided attention. However, two recent developments related to so-called "conversion therapy bans" merit attention from Christian pastors, counselors, and parents. These bans threaten the rights and responsibilities of those tasked with teaching, discipling, and caring for the people in our churches, ministries, and families.

The first story comes from West Lafayette, Indiana, where the city council recently proposed an ordinance prohibiting the practice of so-called "conversion therapy" by unlicensed counselors. While these counseling bans are not new, the scope and reach of the proposed ordinance go beyond almost anything we've seen previously. By intentionally targeting unlicensed professionals, the ordinance would subject pastors and counselors to hefty fines for having conversations with church members and counselees about what the Bible teaches about unwanted same-sex attraction and/or gender dysphoria.

The proposed West Lafayette ordinance is likely unconstitutional. As written, the ordinance explicitly infringes on the speech rights of pastors, parents, and counselors. However, before taking a closer look at the shocking details of the proposed ordinance, it is important to understand the history behind the push to ban such counseling.

Counseling bans have become an important goal of the LGBT lobby. As public opinion on LGBT issues has shifted, there has been a concerted effort to enact bans on counseling pertaining to sexual orientation and gender identity. By and large, these bans mandate that counselors use a "gender-affirming" model of care with their clients, meaning that licensed health care professionals and counselors are prohibited from discussing unwanted same-sex attraction and/or gender dysphoria with their clients (even if the patient and/or parents choose such counseling).

Although the media and the LGBT lobby use the term "conversion therapy" (which evokes images of discredited practices such as electroshock or other pain-inducing methods), counseling bans intentionally use broad language that includes talk therapy. In other words, counseling bans prevent counselors and mental health care professionals from counseling in a way consistent with their sincerely-held religious beliefs and deny patients the right to choose such counseling. Currently, 20 states and the District of Columbia have counseling bans in place.

For Christian pastors and counselors, the proposed ordinance's inclusion of unlicensed counselors is very significant. Although the city "strongly discourages" those with professional licensure through Indiana's Professional Licensing Agency from "engaging in conversion therapy with a minor person," it currently stops short of prohibiting the practice because the city lacks the authority to do so.

The proposed ordinance defines conversion therapy as "any practices or treatments that seek to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change gender expressions or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same gender." Because there are no ecclesial or ministerial exceptions, any guidance, advice, or encouragement from a pastor or Christian counselor about addressing unwanted same-sex attraction is prohibited. Violators of the ordinance would be fined $1,000 for every violation.

If passed, the ordinance would immediately affect a West Lafayette counseling ministry operated by Faith Church. Faith Biblical Counseling Ministries provides 60-80 hours of counseling each week and follows a counseling model known as biblical counseling, which offers support and guidance by applying biblical principles to people's needs.

The second recent development in this area comes from Canada, where parliament recently passed a new law that bans so-called "conversion therapy." Passed without debate or discussion, the bill, known as "C-4," went into effect on January 7. C-4 amends the criminal code to criminalize conversion therapy, which is broadly defined as a "practice, treatment or service" designed to:

  • "change a person's sexual orientation to heterosexual,"
  • "change a person's identity to heterosexual,"
  • "change a person's gender expression so that it conforms to the sex assigned to the person at birth,"
  • "repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behavior,"
  • "repress a person's non-cisgender gender identity,"
  • "repress or reduce a person's gender expression that does not conform to the sex assigned at birth."

Moreover, the legislation describes as a "myth" the belief that "heterosexuality, cisgender gender identity, and gender expression that conforms to the sex assigned to a person at birth are to be preferred over other sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions."

Although it is unclear how C-4 will be enforced--and there is hope that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which explicitly protects the "freedom of thought, belief, opinion, and expression" (as well as the freedom of conscience and religion) will protect the speech of pastors, counselors, and parents--the fact remains that Canadian law now equates orthodox Christian beliefs about human sexuality with harmful "myths" and "stereotypes."

Describing the biblically-based views of millions of Canadians as "myths" is discriminatory and intolerant, but that's not even the worst thing about C-4. Under the guise of preventing "conversion therapy," legislators in Canada have enshrined contested gender ideology into law. The broad manner in which this new counseling ban defines "conversion therapy" opens the question of whether Christian pastors and ministers will be in violation whenever they preach and teach about Christian sexual ethics. Moreover, it would appear that talk therapy--the practice of simply having conversations--related to sexual orientation and gender identity would transgress C-4. If so, Christian counselors and even parents could face criminal penalties for talking to children about the Bible's teaching on sexuality.

Pastors in Canada and the United States are speaking out about C-4. In Canada, the Canadian Religious Freedom Summit encouraged pastors to read a statement to their congregations on January 9 expressing their concern about the new law and their intention to continue preaching the "whole counsel of God." In the United States, John MacArthur, the pastor of Grace Community Church, encouraged pastors to preach on biblical sexual morality on January 16. According to The Daily Wire, at least 4,000 pastors in the United States responded to MacArthur's call by preaching on texts such as 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, Romans 1:26-27, and 1 Timothy 1:10.

Incredibly, but not surprisingly, YouTube removed a clip from MacArthur's sermon that Grace Community Church had posted to the site. In the clip titled "Transgenderism is a War on God," MacArthur stated, "God made man male and female. That is determined genetically, that is physiology. That is science. That is reality. This notion that you are something other than your biology is a cultural construct intended as an assault on God. The only way you can address it, honestly, is to say, 'God made you and God made you exactly the way He wanted you to be. You are not only fighting God in His physical creation, you are fighting God in His sovereignty. You are fighting God in His spiritual relationship to you.' This is a war on God."

For the offending statements, YouTube censored MacArthur, claiming that the comments on transgenderism violated their "hate speech policy." This is just the latest example of Big Tech suppressing Christian views on sexuality.

Although it remains to be seen how C-4 will be enforced, the passage of this bill is not promising for pastors, counselors, and other ministry leaders in Canada. They need support, encouragement, and prayer as they face an uncertain legal terrain. And those of us in the United States must remain vigilant to ensure that lawmakers in the United States understand that tens of millions of Americans do not want their freedom of speech or religion infringed in a similar fashion. Counseling bans are wrong and have to go.

Like Canada's new law, the West Lafayette counseling ban discriminates against orthodox Christian beliefs pertaining to sexuality. Although courts could find the ordinance unconstitutional, the discussion and debate surrounding it reveal the growing hostility toward those who hold orthodox Christian beliefs. The utopia of the cultural revolutionaries is a world where the teaching of Christian sexual ethics is outlawed, counselors are restricted to providing so-called "affirmative" practices only, and parents are prohibited from raising and discipling their children in line with biblical principles. Coming at a time when a Finnish member of parliament is being criminally prosecuted for her biblical speech on sexuality (her trial begins next week), these developments paint a foreboding picture.

Christian pastors, counselors, parents, and policymakers need to recognize our cultural moment and push back against this growing threat of counseling bans. If we don't, the next generation will have less freedom to teach and live out God's Word.