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Within Christianity, there are a variety of views on sexual orientation and homosexuality. The view that various Bible passages speak of homosexuality as immoral or sinful emerged in the first millennium AD, and have since become entrenched in many Christian denominations through church doctrine and the wording of various translations of the Bible.
The term "conversion therapy" is a misnomer that refers to the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have been used to this end include forms of brain surgery, surgical or hormonal castration, aversive treatments such as electric shocks, nausea-inducing drugs, hypnosis, counseling, spiritual interventions, visualization, psychoanalysis, and arousal reconditioning.
The ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that encourage people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires and to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relationship. Beginning with the founding of Love In Action and Exodus International in the mid-1970s, the movement saw rapid growth in the 1980s and 1990s before declining in the 2000s.
John Paulk is an American activist who, from 1998 to 2003, was an advocate of the ex-gay movement and conversion therapy. In April 2013, Paulk disavowed his belief in gay reparative therapy and issued a formal apology for his role as an advocate of the movement.
Exodus International was a non-profit, interdenominational ex-gay Christian umbrella organization connecting organizations that sought to "help people who wished to limit their homosexual desires". Founded in 1976, Exodus International originally asserted that conversion therapy, the reorientation of same-sex attraction, was possible. In 2006, Exodus International had over 250 local ministries in the United States and Canada and over 150 ministries in 17 other countries. Although Exodus was formally an interdenominational Christian entity, it was most closely associated with Protestant and evangelical denominations.
Evergreen International, Inc. was a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Salt Lake City, Utah, the whose stated mission was to assist "people who want to diminish same-sex attractions and overcome homosexual behavior". It adhered to Christian and particularly LDS teaching and supported the doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The organization stated this task could be accomplished with the help of the Lord and, in some cases, psychological counseling. Evergreen was founded in 1989 as a grassroots organization by men who were seeking to deal with their homosexual feelings in ways congruent to the teachings of the LDS Church.
Ex-ex-gay people are those who formerly participated in the ex-gay movement in an attempt to change their sexual orientation to heterosexual, but who then later went on to publicly state they had a non-heterosexual sexual orientation.
Courage International, also known as Courage Apostolate and Courage for short, is an approved apostolate of the Catholic Church that counsels "men and women with same-sex attractions in living chaste lives in fellowship, truth and love". Based on a treatment model for drug and alcohol addictions used in programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Courage runs a peer support program aimed at helping gay people remain abstinent from same-sex sexual activity.
Justin Lee is an American author, speaker, and LGBT Christian activist known for his focus on building bridges between groups who disagree. He is the author of Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate, and the director of a 2009 documentary, Through My Eyes, which explores the struggles of young gay Christians. He is also known for founding the Gay Christian Network, which he ran from 2001 to 2017. Currently, he is the executive director of Nuance Ministries.
Watchmen on the Walls is an international evangelical ministry based in Riga, Latvia. It describes itself as "the international Christian movement that unites Christian leaders, Christian and social organizations and aims to protect Christian morals and values in society." According to a Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) Intelligence report the group's name derives from the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, in which the "watchmen" guard the reconstruction of Jerusalem. "The cities they guard over today, say the contemporary Watchmen, are being destroyed by homosexuality."
Love Won Out, later known as True Story was an ex-gay ministry.
The Q Christian Fellowship (QCF) is an ecumenical Christian ministry focused on serving lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, queer, and straight ally Christians. It was founded in 2001 as the Gay Christian Network (GCN) by Justin Lee and is currently administered from Denver, Colorado. It was re-branded in 2018 to better reflect the diversity of the ministry and community they serve. According to the re-branding documents, the 'Q' does not correlate to any particular word. Instead, it is just the letter 'Q' open for interpretation.
Positive Alternatives to Homosexuality (PATH) is a coalition of groups that purport to help "people with unwanted same-sex attractions (SSA) realize their personal goals for change—whether by developing their innate heterosexual potential or by embracing a lifestyle as a single, non-sexually active man or woman." The predominantly ex-gay member groups promote the "right to decide whether to seek counseling or therapy" and abstinence. The coalition lists studies on reparative therapy and links to organizations that work with people who have unwanted same-sex attractions.
June Hunt is Founder and CSO of Hope for the Heart, a US-based nonprofit Christian ministry which she founded in 1986.
Homosexuals Anonymous (HA) is an ex-gay group which practices conversion therapy and describes itself as "a fellowship of men and women, who through their common emotional experience, have chosen to help each other live in freedom from homosexuality." HA regards homosexual orientation as "sexual brokeness" that may be "healed" through faith in Jesus Christ. In common with other Christian fundamentalist groups, HA regards heterosexuality as "the universal creation-norm". This approach has been criticized for stressing that a person must renounce homosexuality to be a Christian, and because there is no valid scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed.
Restored Hope Network is an ex-gay network of interdenominational Christian ministries and individuals. The network holds an annual conference in a different location in the United States each year that offers counseling and conversion therapy, and has speakers that offer advice for families with LGBT relatives and outreach to churches.
Rosaria Champagne Butterfield is a writer, speaker, homemaker, and former tenured professor of English at Syracuse University.
Joel 2:25 International, Inc. is an ex-gay ministry.
Sinclair Rogers II was an American Christian pastor who was part of the ex-gay movement. In the late 1980s, Rogers was a President of Exodus International, and became one of the earliest personalities associated with the ex-gay movement. He wrote a life-story entitled "The Man in the Mirror," which was published in pamphlet form by Last Days Ministries.
The International Federation for Therapeutic and Counseling Choice (IFTCC) is a London-based organization that internationally lobbies governments and religious organizations to oppose bans on conversion therapy, the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, which has condemned by medical organizations and human rights groups as "unethical, unscientific and ineffective and, in some instances, tantamount to torture."
References
- 1 2 Joe Dallas l Genesis Counseling l Sexual Addiction Recovery
- ↑ "'Love Won Out' conference coming to Southern California". Christian Examiner. September 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-09-29.
- 1 2 "Exodus International - Joe Dallas". Archived from the original on 2009-07-31. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
- ↑ "Pro-Homosexual Theology". North Carolina Family Policy Council. September 1, 2007. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ Kwon, Lillian (June 25, 2007). "Exodus Freedom Speaker Warns of 'The Gay Gospel'". The Christian Post. Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2018-05-27.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ↑ Joe Dallas to Exodus Ministries: Fight Gays. Discriminate. by: Mike Airhart http://www.exgaywatch.com/wp/2005/05/joe-dallas-to-e/
