News
2007-06-20
Christian
conservatives, gay leaders work together to
transform "ex-gay" therapy
A growing number
of conservative Christians and gay leaders are finding
common ground
A growing number
of conservative Christians and gay leaders are finding
common ground on the issue of "ex-gay" therapy, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Some Christian
leaders, including the
Reverend R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, are
considering the possible biological basis for
homosexuality.Mohler
recently shocked many of his constituents by
writing that “we should not be surprised”
if homosexuality was not a choice but genetically
inscribed in our DNA.
Mohler’s
opinions, although scandalous by popular
conservative Christian standards, seem to reflect the
current view of many Americans.A Gallup
poll last month found that 42% of adults believe
that a person is born gay, up from 13% three decades ago.
This more
scientific outlook on homosexuality coincides with
many conservative Christians questioning the
effectiveness of “ex-gay” therapy. Some are even
reaching across the divide, working with gay
professionals to develop new approaches for patients
with a conflicting sexual orientation and religion.
Michael Bussee, a
former "conversion" counselor who left the ministry
after falling in love with another man, recently endorsed
the work of two conservative Christian college
professors who created new suggested guidelines
for sexual identity therapy. The therapy, developed by
Warren Throckmorton, Ph.D., and Mark Yarhouse,
Psy.D., moves away from the idea of
“curing” gays, instead promoting ways to
manage their sexuality in terms of their religious values,
with a life of celibacy at the extreme.
The supporters of
these guidelines come from all across the political
spectrum, including an evangelical college provost and
Robert Spitzer, a psychiatrist who in the 1970s helped
remove homosexuality from the American Psychiatric
Association’s list of medical disorders.
“For
many years, mental health professionals have taken the
view that since homosexuality is not a mental
disorder, any attempt to change sexual orientation
is unwise,” Spitzer told the LosAngeles Times.“But
for health care professionals to tell someone they
don't have the right to make an effort to bring
their actions into harmony with their values is hubris.”
In
response to these recent developments, the American
Psychological Association created a task force
last spring to reconsider the
organization’s vague, decade-old policy on sexual
orientation therapy.In its
place, they hope to find a balance for patients
unhappy about their sexual orientation while still
ensuring their mental health and dignity. (The Advocate)
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