Gay man wins payout over church ‘exorcism'
Matthew Drapper, 37, was a volunteer at St Thomas Philadelphia, a joint Anglican-Baptist congregation in Sheffield, in 2014 when the exorcism took place.
His compensation is believed to be the first of its kind.
Mr Drapper, who is no longer a Christian, was told by a couple at a church event that he had come under 'demonic possession' because of 'sexual impurity'.
The husband and wife, who were responsible for praying for members of the congregation, said they could see 'demons leaving' his body during the resultant exorcism.
'Something out of a horror movie'
Mr Drapper told The Times: 'Looking back, it seems like something out of a horror movie – for someone to be standing over you saying they can see the demons leaving your body is quite terrifying.
'But when you are deeply tied into the church, as I was at that time, it is easy to believe anything they tell you.'
Mr Drapper said that the experience left him feeling 'empty' and that he considered taking his own life.
He left the church in 2016 and said he had 'lost my Christian faith because of this'.
Mr Drapper made a formal complaint in 2019 but the church said there was 'no evidence to substantiate' his complaint.
In 2021, the Diocese of Sheffield commissioned an investigation by Barnardo's, the children's charity.
The review concluded last year that it was a 'supported fact' that Mr Drapper was subject to a prayer session, which was 'in our view a form of exorcism'.
It found: 'From the evidence available to us it is our view that the session took place as described by [Mr Drapper] and prayers were administered with the intention of changing his sexual identity.'
Mr Drapper then launched legal action against the church, resulting in a five-figure out-of-court settlement.
The 37-year-old said: 'You imagine this kind of practice to be outdated but it has been revived in recent decades and is often referred to as 'power healing'.
'I know around 20 people who have been through it but I suspected there are many, many more.'
'Abhorrent homophobic practices'
Richard Scorer, Mr Drapper's lawyer, told The Times: 'As far as I am aware this is the first ever payment of damages in respect of harm caused by conversion or exorcism practices.
'It demonstrates that churches which engage in these abhorrent homophobic practices may face legal claims and damages awards, and I hope it will encourage churches to ban such practices entirely.'
Following the publication of the Barnardo's report, St Thomas Philadelphia said: 'We have accepted the outcomes of the first investigation and are saddened that one of our community was not cared for in the way we would have liked. We sincerely apologised to them for this.'
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