Can Prayer Be Prosecuted?

Can prayer be prosecuted?

Let me give two examples.

First, in my home state of Victoria, there is the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021 s5.(3).(b) which explicitly criminalizes the use of prayer to change or suppress someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

Now I believe that “pray the gay away” is pastorally irresponsible and potentially harmful, so I can concur up to that point. But here’s the thing. You can be prosecuted even if the prayer is requested by someone. Or else, you could potentially be prosecuted if you pray for the ability to remain celibate and I have celibate same-sex attracted friends who do that. When I’ve met people wrestling with these issues, I’ve urged them to discern in the precincts of their own conscience how to love God, love themselves, and to live a life of holiness and devotion to God. But because holiness entails suppression of one’s sexual desires, even a prayer for holiness could see me prosecuted.

But it gets worse …

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Second, in the United Kingdom, they are now prosecuting people for silent prayers in the vicinity of abortion clinics. Now, I do believe this requires a bit of give and take. A woman should not be harassed by crowds yelling with picket signs going into a clinic any more than she should be harassed while going into a church or school. Protecting people, whether religious or irreligious, from intimidation or harassment, is a basic civil liberty, even for people with whom I disagree.

But pro-life advocates in the United Kingdom have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted for silently praying near abortion clinics. If you live near a hospital, even organizing pro-life meetings in your own home may be a criminal offense. Even wearing a T-Shirt like “Pro-Life and Proud,” could get you prosecuted. What is more, the government is encouraging citizens to report people on the matter.

The Free Press reports that:

Emma has strong feelings about abortion: She wears T-shirts that say things like “Pro-life and Proud.” A devout Catholic, she is a trustee of a pro-life activism group and regularly holds planning meetings at her flat in Edinburgh, Scotland. On her way to work at an office in the center of town, the 24-year-old passes the abortion facility at nearby Chalmers Hospital. Sometimes, she prays with rosary beads as she walks by.

But now she’s worried she could get arrested in her neighborhood—for wearing that T-shirt, for holding those meetings, or even for praying in her head.

On October 4, Emma, who asked not to be named, got a letter from the Scottish government. Addressed “Dear Resident,” its purpose was to alert her that her home, due to its proximity to the hospital, is now in an abortion censorship zone.  

This is due to the UK’s brand-new “Safe Access” law, which came into effect September 24 and made it a criminal offense to do anything within 200 meters of an abortion facility that could “influence” someone’s decision to access, provide, or facilitate an abortion. In the Scottish government’s letter, Emma read that even “activities in a private place (such as a house) within the area could be an offence if they can be seen or heard within the Zone and are done intentionally or recklessly.”

“You can report a group or an individual that you think is breaking the law,” the letter added, before providing instructions on how to do so.

I know that gay conversion practices are harmful and that our societies debate right-to-life versus a woman’s right over her own body. But once you start criminalizing prayer, you are infringing on basic religious freedoms, and trying regulate people’s religious life, something that is Orwellian. In a technical sense, the prosecution of prayer is what is called “civic totalism” where a progressive state attempts to control and coerce people in their public and private lives.