Global religious leaders call for ban on conversion therapy A new initiative, "The Good Fruit Project," has been launched to educate people of faith about the harms of conversion therapy 133SHARES Photo: Jon Tyson, via Unsplash. More than 370 religious leaders from around the globe are calling on lawmakers to ban the use of conversion therapy to try and change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The religious leaders, who hail from 35 different countries and represent all of the world’s major faiths, signed onto a declaration calling for an end to the practice. Prominent signatories include South African cleric Archbishop Desmond Tutu, David Rosen, the former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, and Mary McAleese, the former president of Ireland, according to the BBC.