James Dobson, the late founder of Focus on the Family and an adviser to five U.S. presidents, became one of the most influential evangelical leaders in the United States from the late 20th century onward. Through his 70-plus books, radio broadcasts and political lobbying, he
Occasionally a seminal work appears that becomes a defining piece, a turning point, or a breakthrough in a particular area. Considering the religious LGBTQ+ conversion movement, the documentary “Pray Away,” released today on Netflix, could very well be that work. After mental health professional organizations
Oh, conversion therapy, how can we miss you if you won’t go away? Having witnessed to the ex-gay movement for a quarter century and counting, Whosoever has seen conversion therapy’s major institutions become hobbled, its principles discredited, and most of its founders now living out
Notice the tenses in Wikipedia’s entry on “Exodus International” posted only a day or two after events necessitated a change from the word “is” to “was”. Quote: “Exodus International was a non-profit interdenominational ex-gay Christian organization that sought to help people who wished to limit
News release After almost 40 years, Exodus International has closed its doors. It was the oldest Christian services organization of its type and the market leader in reparative/ex-gay/sexual orientation change therapy. Soulforce, an interfaith organization that works to free lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer
I woke up in a Memphis, Tenn., economy hotel with nothing but my wallet, a pack of Marlboros, and some clothes that were tossed carelessly over a chair. The morning sun peeked through the crack in the curtain and specks of dust hovered in the
A recent study, “A Longitudinal Study of Attempted Religiously Mediated Sexual Orientation Change,” published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, has been hailed by conservative U.S. Christians in publications and websites as a breakthrough. A Christian political group in Australia, the Salt Shakers,
One of the cofounders of the antigay Family Research Council, George Rekers may well, himself, be a gay man: Antigay activist George Rekers is indeed gay, according to the male escort he hired for a 10-day trip across Europe. The escort spoke to the Miami
The president of Exodus International, Alan Chambers, recently published a book titled Leaving Homosexuality, and the interview he gave to CitizenLink that appears in its July 24, 2009 edition regarding his “leaving homosexuality” is instructive. This is part of what Alan Chambers said: For so
First, the good news — the American Psychological Association has repudiated so-called “ex-gay” therapies that purport to change gay people into straight people. “Contrary to claims of sexual orientation change advocates and practitioners, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of psychological interventions to