A gay man who lost contact with his family after escaping a secretive religious community says he would have died if he stayed. Ben Woodbury 31, was born into the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church but left at the age of 24 after being outed as homosexual when he was 18.
Ben has called his upbringing one in a "doomsday cult" where he says he was banned from watching TV, listening to music and socialising with non-members. The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church was established in the early nineteenth century in England after growing dissatisfaction with the Anglican Church.
The Church has a community of over 50,000 members across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the Americas and the UK. According to Ben, the Church consider homosexuality to be immoral and that women should be servile to men.
As a gay man, Ben believes that he would have died had he stayed in the church. Ben, from Windsor in New South Wales, Australia, said: "Their view of homosexuality was medieval.
"Women are there to serve men. They aren't allowed to speak at church and have to wear head coverings and tokens so they can get extra protection from angels.
"It's all part of the illusion that they are subservient to men." Ben fled the community at the age of 24, six years after coming out to family.
But he says the family member who was not named, outed him to a priest. Ben said that his family reacted negatively and made his life impossible to the point he considered committing suicide.
He said: "I tried to pray the gay away and that didn't work. I seriously considered suicide. The options were chemical castration, living a false life or suicide. I thought suicide would be best."
Ex-members of the church are completely ex-communicated and Ben has now lost touch almost completely with his loved ones. Ben said: "Leaving is a fate worse than death for them.
"If someone speaks out against they get branded as an apostate and they hold prayer meetings for their death. They have photo books with pictures of member families and when you leave they scratch your face out and recreate the photo without you."
Ben has been out of the Church for seven years now and he has built a life he is content in. He owns an interior shop in Windsor, Australia and also helps other ex-members find their life outside.
Ben said: "I always have music on in my house now. My upbringing was stone cold silence so it feels amazing to have music on. I've had some very enriching experiences since I got out. I love the idea of being in films and TV. I've helped 15 people leave and everyone says that it's my calling to help people get out."
Plymouth Brethren Christian Church have questioned Ben's account and insists Ben left on his own accord. A spokesperson from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church said: "That is just not true.
"We are not and have never been a cult. We live a Christian life in peace with each other and with our neighbours showing compassion in action through our charitable activity.
"Mr Woodbury’s decision to no longer attend our Church was a personal choice, and we are disappointed that he is spreading falsehoods about our values and way of life. We are a mainstream Christian Church, and members of the Plymouth Brethren live and work in society much like anyone else."
Commenting on their stance on homosexuality, the spokesperson said: "As a Christian Church which follows the teachings of the Holy Bible, we are guided by our values of love, care and compassion. Our values and beliefs in this space broadly align with those millions of Anglicans, Catholics and others."
