A Christian bookshop in the centre of Lausanne (south of Switzerland) was recently the target of the anger of a local politician.

Benôit Gaillard, an elected member of the city council and federal candidate for the Social Democratic Parti Socialiste (PS) went to the press to denounce two books he found on the shelves of an evangelical bookshop in the city centre. The ideas expressed in those works, he argued, could have penal consequences for the small business.

Sensationalist paper Blick

“Homophobia is rife in the centre of Lausanne”, the politician said in an article published by Blick, the most-read tabloid in Switzerland. The story examines the Christian business, a coffee-bookshop where general literature is also available. The place also offers spaces for ‘co-working’.

Gaillard, who photographed himself in front of the bookshop with the two books he denounces (titled: Un être cher est gay and Dieu est-il homophobe?), told the Blick reporter that such “homophobic” contents could fall under the anti-homophobia criminal law, voted in referendum in February 2020. According to the politician, the books “compare homosexuality to an illness and openly promote so-called conversion therapies”.

Une seconde j'ai cru que @benoitgaillard parlait de la racaille qui pullule à Lausanne... une seconde de trop. #Wokistan pic.twitter.com/x37IkZt0kE

— Ruben Ramchurn (@RubenRamchurn) July 2, 2023

“Indoctrination” and “political agenda”

The Christian bookshop is owned by a evangelical church in Lausanne that belongs to the C3 Church Global network. The politician denounces that “the evangelical movement” around the world does “proselytism” using “new technologies and platforms used by young people to attract new followers”.

The nice design of the bookshop (“cooler than Starbucks”, writes the author of the Blick article) also seems to be a problem for Gaillard. Some years ago, the same place had been the home of another bookshop, linked to the historic Protestant church, with a more traditional style and apparently with less controversial books.

Gaillard’s Socialist Party leads the Lausanne government and he hopes that the executive takes action. “I would like the municipality to clarify its policy in this area, because we already had to deal with homophobic preaching in the public space in 2018”, he told Blick. “Now there is a clear law”, and “a red line has been crossed” that needs to be “condemned” because “comparing homosexuality to an incurable disease is a criminal offence”.

The local politician said he respected religious freedom but went on to say that “these evangelical churches are organised like multinationals, have a political agenda - they support Trump in the United States and Bolsonaro in Brazil - and have set up property, commercial and communication strategies. The authorities look the other way, fail to prevent sectarian indoctrination and don’t realise what they are tolerating”.

Also the the municipal councillor responsible for LGBTIQ+ policy in Lausanne gave his opinion on the case: “The Lausanne police are very attentive to homophobic offences and have a reporting platform and a special unit to support victims and provide them with advice”.

Bookshop owners: “We respect everyone and do not hide that we are Christians”

Contacted by Blick, the bookshop administrators said the two books denounced by the councilman had been withdrawn from sale. They clarified that they do not agree that homosexuality is an illness and that they show “respect” to all people no matter their sexuality or choices in life.

“Our aim is not to promote the church through the café-library, but to perpetuate a Christian bookshop in this place, at the service of all those who might be interested”, they said. “We’re not in any way hiding the fact that this is a Christian bookshop. In fact, this place has been a Christian bookshop for decades and is known as such”.

The C3 church in Lausanne is a member of the Swiss Evangelical Alliance in the francophone area (RES).

Other attacks on businesses owned by Christians

In recent years, some other businesses owned by committed Christians have been ùt under pressure. A high profile boycott was the case of the chocolatier Läderach, whose contract with the Switzerland’s main airline was terminated after the pressure of LGBTQI groups. Physical shops of the company were attacked because of the owner’s support of the annual March For Life.