Long-standing LGBT advocates such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu are among the signatories
More than 370 religious leaders from around the world are calling for a ban on conversion therapy - the attempt to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.
The signatories to the declaration
represent all the world's major faiths and many are known LGBT advocates.
They include South African cleric Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Chief Rabbi of Ireland David Rosen.
Other religious figures said a ban could risk criminalising pastors.
A declaration calling for a ban will be launched at a conference sponsored by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on Wednesday.
The Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, Paul Bayes, and Mary McAleese, the former president of Ireland, are also among those who have signed the declaration.
Who are the BBC? The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters are at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London and it is the world's oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over
What is ConversionTherapy? Conversion therapy is the practice of trying to change an individual's sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual using psychological, physical, or spiritual interventions. There is no reliable evidence that sexual orientation can be changed and medical institutions warn that
conversion therapy practices are ineffective and potentially harmful. Medical, scientific, and government organizations in the United States and United Kingdom have expressed concern over the validity, efficacy and ethics of conversion therapy. Various jurisdictions around the world have passed laws against conversion therapy.
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Conversion therapy advocates argue they respect any individuals who identify as 'gay' and do not seek change. But any person wishing to voluntarily receive support, guidance and explore changing sexual orientation should be free to do so.
What is Homosexual? Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between members of the same gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to people of the same sex. It also refers to a person's sense of identity
based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions.
What is LGBT? LGBT stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the term is an adaptation of the initialism LGB, which was used to replace the term gay in reference to the LGBT community beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s. Activists believed that the term gay community did not
accurately represent all those to whom it referred. The initialism has become adopted into the mainstream media as an umbrella term for use when labeling topics pertaining to sexuality and gender identity.
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