{"id":32457,"date":"2022-09-10T16:10:20","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/californias-not-banning-the-bible-but-christians-should-still-be-worried\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T16:10:20","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T21:10:20","slug":"californias-not-banning-the-bible-but-christians-should-still-be-worried","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/californias-not-banning-the-bible-but-christians-should-still-be-worried\/","title":{"rendered":"California\u2019s Not Banning the Bible, But Christians Should Still Be Worried"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Nathaniel Shuman photo – Unsplash<\/div>\n

By Bob Smietana<\/em><\/p>\n

A Christian ministry has canceled two student conferences this summer out of concerns their teaching could violate a proposed California law banning \u201csexual orientation change efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposed bill\u2014which passed the state assembly recently and is being considered by the state senate\u2014labels those efforts as a fraudulent business practice. Any sale of goods or services related to sexual orientation change would be banned.<\/p>\n

Colorado-based Summit Ministries had planned to hold two student conferences at Biola University in Los Angeles this summer. Organizers feared the group\u2019s teaching about sexuality could run afoul of the proposed law, known as AB2943.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are grieved that it has come to this, but we simply cannot put our students, staff, and faculty at risk,\u201d said Jeff Myers, president of Summit Ministries.<\/p>\n

Myers said that 79 students had already registered for the conferences in California. Almost all will be able to attend a conference in another state.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The proposed bill could put faculty, staff, and students at risk, he said. And it could be a distraction.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur ability to create a safe place with our students would be compromised,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Myers said that the conference staff and faculty try to build a safe environment students can learn about a biblical worldview. Dealing with a possible legal battle could undermine that trust.<\/p>\n

Because the ministry charges for registration, they could be at risk of violating the proposed law, said Myers.<\/p>\n

California already has a law banning reparative or \u201cgay conversion\u201d therapy for minors. So lawmakers could have amended that law so that it applies to all ages, he said.<\/p>\n

By labeling \u201csexual orientation change efforts\u201d as fraud, Myers worries the proposed law could cause legal programs for groups that teach tradition biblical views of sexuality.<\/p>\n

Even if a group were to win in court\u2014they\u2019d face a long legal battle. It might be easier to avoid talking about sexuality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has a chilling effect on free speech,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The proposed bill\u2019s sponsor said it would apply only to paid therapists. But some Christian counselors and legal groups\u00a0are skeptical.<\/p>\n

David French, a constitutional lawyer and a columnist for the National Review<\/em>, said the bill is troubling.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a horribly written bill,\u201d French said. \u201cWhat they have done is taken an idea\u2014and that idea is conversion therapy\u2014and labeled that idea as a fraudulent business practice, and then banned commercial transactions involving that idea.\u201d<\/p>\n

French said the bill defines the term \u201csexual orientation change practices\u201d so broadly that even teaching about traditional Christian views of sexuality could be included.<\/p>\n

The bill says, \u201c\u2018Sexual orientation change efforts\u2019 means any practices that seek to change an individual\u2019s sexual orientation. This includes efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions, or to eliminate or reduce sexual or romantic attractions or feelings toward individuals of the same sex.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
See also  8 Ways to Persevere in Ministry<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Still, French said, the bill doesn\u2019t ban the sale of Bibles or religious meetings. But it is so broadly written that it could ban some Christian books, he said.<\/p>\n

And French doesn\u2019t expect Christian books to be banned at the local Barnes & Noble.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is hard for me to imagine the state attorney general\u2014or whoever is charged with enforcing the law\u2014going around and trying to purge books from the shelf,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

University of Virginia law professor Douglas Laycock agrees.<\/p>\n

The bill only \u201capplies to people who charge for conversion therapy, he said. \u201cSo religious teaching and pastoral counseling is exempt unless they start charging for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laycock has been fielding calls about the bill due to online claims that the bill bans the sale of Bibles. It does not, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe claim that the bill might ban the sale of Bibles is absurd,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

French does think Christian conferences or Christian counselors could run into trouble if they sell books or other materials about sexuality.<\/p>\n

The bill\u2019s broad language could cover such books. And labeling conversion therapy as fraud makes it easier to target written materials, French said. So conference organizers or counselors could end up in court.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll it takes is one sympathetic plaintiff and you have a heck of a legal problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Even if conference organizers or a counselor were to prevail in court, they\u2019d still face hefty legal bills. And the threat of legal action could be chilling, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia state authorities are hijacking good-faith concerns about reparative therapy to deny constitutional protection to those who hold traditional views of sexuality and marriage,\u201d Myers said.<\/p>\n

Summit still plans to hold conferences in other states this summer and has offered to help students affected by the cancellations.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Bob Smietana<\/h2>\n

@bobsmietana<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Bob is the former senior writer for Lifeway Research. In September 2018, he joined Religion News Service, where he currently serves as a national writer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n