UK Church Pays Damages After Gay Man Subjected to Exorcism

LONDON, July 16 — A British man has received a financial settlement from a church in Sheffield after enduring a traumatic “exorcism” intended to purge his homosexuality. Matthew Drapper, now 37, described being subjected to intense spiritual coercion and prayer rituals during a church retreat in 2014

The event took place at St Thomas Philadelphia, a joint Anglican-Baptist church, where Drapper said he was pressured to confess to “sexual sin” and take part in a ritual that was framed as casting out demons. He later experienced severe emotional distress and contemplated suicide.

Drapper filed a formal complaint with the church in 2019. Although initially dismissed, an independent investigation supported his account and concluded he had been subjected to a harmful form of conversion therapy. The church has since apologized and agreed to a five-figure out-of-court settlement.

This marks the first known case in the UK where someone has been compensated for a church-led exorcism targeting their sexual orientation. Drapper is now campaigning for a full legal ban on all forms of conversion practices, calling for the UK government to act on long-promised legislation.