Evangelicals Losing Interest in 'Reparative Therapy?'

Evangelicals may be losing faith in the idea that gays choose their sexual orientation and can be converted to heterosexuality using so-called "reparative therapy," according to a July 18 CNN article.

In part, the evangelical community is responding to mounting scientific data that strongly suggests that gays and lesbians are born, and that homosexuality is not the result of early life trauma or a decision to embrace a "sinful lifestyle." As such, it makes little sense to approach the issue as one of personal choice.

The CNN article also said that other therapeutic avenues have become available, making "reparative therapy," with its unpleasant associations, less attractive than it used to be.

"Evangelicals, in quiet ways, are shifting to this position to where there is just not a lot of support for the change paradigm," said leading Christian psychologist Warren Throckmorton, who holds an associate professorship at Pennsylvania's evangelical Grove City College.

"In the late 1990s, the debate was clearly, 'Could gays change from being gay?' and the focus was on orientation, and it was a big part of politics," added Throckmorton.

Meantime, another influential evangelical leader has issued a statement on the inadequacy of the faith tradition's lack of understanding when it comes to GLBTs and the issues they face, the article said.

"We have spoken carelessly and unknowledgeably in the past to just say, 'Just change. Just decide right now your pattern of attraction is not homosexual but heterosexual,' "noted the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Al Mohler.

Mohler went on to make a major concession to GLBTs who have taken affront at the suggestion that they have simply selected homosexuality as one of an array of options.

"We understand that sexual attraction and a profile of someone's sexuality is a complex of factors, some of which are certainly not chosen," Mohler said. "It's not just a matter of choice. It's not something that's turned on or turned off."

However, that adjustment in how evangelicals views gays does not mean that the faith tradition is prepared to embrace GLBTs and their families, or to recast their view of homosexuality as a "sinful" form of conduct condemned by the Bible.

"Transformation in Christ is possible, but it doesn't necessarily mean that we will never be tempted or completely move beyond a certain struggle that we might have," the head of Exodus International, Alan Chambers, told CNN.

Exodus International claims that gays can "leave homosexuality" and lead "normal" lives as heterosexuals -- an attitude that clings to the notion that to be gay is be broken or incomplete in some way.

"[W]e can live through the filter of our faith and abide by that most, and leave behind all sorts of things that have power of us," Chambers went on to say.

Still, there are signs that the evangelical faith is becoming more open to allowing GLBTs to make their own choices, rather than seeking to impose a moral imperative upon gays to "change" either their innate nature or their sexual conduct.

A new therapeutic approach, the "congruence paradigm," focuses on what is possible for, and desired by, the individual. Noted Throckmorton, "If they say 'I think being gay is OK and it's what I want to pursue,' we'll work with them to do that, too."

The very nature of that paradigm stands in stark contrast to harsher anti-gay viewpoints. Marcus Bachmann, the husband of 2012 presidential nominee contender Michele Bachmann and the owner of two Christian counseling clinics, told a Christian radio program last year that gays are "barbarians" in need of "discipline" rather than support from therapists and other "authority figures."

"What should drive us is the undeniable truth and the Godly principles of truth in God's word," Marcus Bachmann said during a September, 2010, appearance on radio program 'Point of View.' "I think we really need to call sin, sin. And too often we find counselors and friends that will absolutely excuse a person and allow their feelings to take charge... "

Such changes in how the faithful perceive and respond to gays may be inevitable, as more GLBTs emerge from the closet, spurring greater social acceptance -- and, in turn, encouraging still more gays to come out.

Homosexuality has no bearing whatever on class, socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, or religious faith. Even the strictest antigay churches can be expected to include as many gay members, closeted or otherwise, as any other group.

Evangelicals are starting to realize this -- and accept that gays are not only part of their religious culture, but also a vibrant and faithful part of it.

"We're silly to think that there are not gays coming to church, part of our congregations," Marcus Yoars told CNN. Yoars serves as the editor for religious publication Charisma, the article said.

"It's the elephant in the room," added Yoars. "It's ridiculous that we can't address it in a manner of love first, which doesn't mean watering down biblical teaching."

That teaching itself may be subject to new interpretation, and less selectivity. Yale divinity graduate and biblical scholar Jonathan Dudley was still a student when he penned a series of columns for the Yale Daily News examining the way in which scripture has been re-interpreted, distorted, taken out of context, and misappropriated by politicians and by religious leaders for political purposes. Those writings form the basis of a recently published book, "Broken Words: The Abuse of Science and Faith in American Politics," in which Dudley notes the ways in which evangelical leaders have cherry-picked biblical passages in order to use scripture as a weapon against GLBTs and their families. At the same time, Dudley noted, those same leaders indulge in strategic silence about what the Bible has to say about heterosexual divorce.

"Although the New Testament contains one uncontested reference to some form of same-sex intercourse, it contains five unambiguous condemnations of divorce," Dudley told EDGE in a recent interview. "The earliest occurs in the gospel of Mark, where Jesus declares: 'Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery.'

"This general prohibition is repeated once in Luke and twice in Matthew, where a possible exception is made only in the case of adultery," Dudley continued. "The Apostle Paul also repeats the command in 1 Corinthians, stating that 'a husband must not divorce his wife.' And few questions are left about what the God of the Old Testament thinks about the matter. We read in Malachi: ' "I hate divorce," says the Lord God of Israel.' "

Hard on Marriage Equality... but Soft on Straight Divorce

"I think there are a number of reasons why more conservative theologians have read condemnations of divorce more loosely and condemnations of homosexuality more strictly, including the fact that there are more divorced people than there are gay people (meaning a blanket condemnation of divorce is harder to enforce)," Dudley went on to say. "David Instone-Brewer, a chief advocate of looser divorce laws among evangelicals, notes in explaining his approach: 'It is difficult to believe the Bible can be as impractical as this interpretation implies.'

"It's hard to forbid a woman in an abusive relationship from getting a divorce, even though the Bible wouldn't seem to allow it," summed up the biblical scholar, who is now a medical student at Johns-Hopkins. "On the other hand, it's easier to lay such burdens on a much smaller and historically despised minority, namely, gays and lesbians."

But as acceptance grows, stigma fades. In 2008, Dr. Patrick Chapman, author of "Thou Shalt Not Love: What Evangelicals Really Say to Gays," told EDGE that even then a groundswell of change was taking place.

"Traditionally, evangelicals believe homosexuality results largely from a poor relationship during the formative years with one's same-sex parent," Chapman told EDGE. "Because [evangelicals believe that] homosexuality results from social and psychological factors, [they subscribe to the idea that] counseling can repair the relational 'damage' that supposedly caused someone to be attracted to the same sex."

Chapman went on to clarify some of the more obscure points about how evangelicals have viewed gays in the past.

"It is important to remember that many evangelicals define homosexuality by a person's behavior, not [his or her] orientation," Chapman noted. "Thus, because all people are supposedly born heterosexual, and because homosexuality is defined by behavior, a celibate person is not homosexual.

"From this perspective, a person who engaged in homosexual behavior but is now celibate is 'ex-gay': they are no longer gay because they are not engaging in the behavior," Chapman explained.

But the findings of science have made inroads into the thinking of the faithful, Chapman noted, recollecting that "in March 2007 Albert Mohler, the president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, stated the scientific research indicates some level of biological causation for sexual orientation; he added if a prenatal 'cure' is found, then it should be used.

"Nonetheless, I believe this was an important milestone in the fight for equality," Chapman added. "Evangelicals believe that Psalm 139:13-14 implies God 'knits every person together in the womb.' Mohler suggested a homosexual orientation develops pre-natally, from an evangelical perspective he was stating that God makes people homosexual.

"Thus, Mohler's admission challenges the very foundation of evangelical opposition to homosexuality: how can a Christian condemn something God intentionally created in a person?"

Chapman went on to make a prediction that now seems to be coming true. "As evangelicals increasingly accept the scientific evidence that sexual orientation is inborn, they will have greater difficulty in justifying their opposition to homosexuality."

The CNN article took note of the fact that in every respect -- from marriage equality to military service -- younger Americans, including younger evangelicals, are far more accepting of GLBTs, and more likely to reject judgmental stances that relegate gays to legal inequality in this life and eternal damnation in the next because of their sexual orientation.

"Pastors need not compromise their convictions, but they can expect congregants to call for a more accepting, forgiving message -- a more Christian message," argued a spokesman for the younger evangelical generation, Jonathan Merritt, in an op-ed he wrote for the Christian Science Monitor. "If Christian leaders can't make that transition - and quickly - instead of an awakening, evangelicals may be facing an exodus."

But the pursuit of equality does not have to be a waiting game based on the assumption that faith-based prejudice will simply disappear along with the older generation. GLBTs can stand up for the cause of their own equality by taking an active part in outreach and education to those who may oppose their legal and social parity on religious grounds. The key, Chapman told EDGE, lies with education -- for oneself first, and then for others.

"I encourage the GLBTQ community to learn about the Bible, but not in the superficial manner that is common in many evangelical churches," Chapman said. "From experience, I know the typical evangelical is largely ignorant of the historical and cultural contexts of the Bible, of the findings of biblical scholars, and even of the biblical passages they use to condemn us."

Chapman offered several examples of this point.

"I have yet to meet an evangelical who is aware there are two separate flood stories embedded within Genesis 6-9, which is presented as if it is one story," he said.

"I have yet to meet an evangelical who is aware that no Bible published before 1952 translates 1 Corinthians 6:9 as explicitly condemning homosexuals (and it is very difficult to find a translation explicitly condemning 'sodomites,' which was the term most often used prior to 'homosexual' becoming common)," Chapman added.

"I have yet to meet an evangelical who knows the explicit reason Lot gave to condemn the men of Sodom when they attempted to gang-rape his angelic visitors," Chapman continued, "and I have yet to meet an evangelical who knows what Ezekiel 16:48-50 says the sins of Sodom were.

"Thus, if the GLBTQ community were to learn about the Bible and what it actually says, they could easily and successfully challenge a foundational source of opposition to our equality."

Or to put it another way: The truth, if gays are able to articulate it clearly and make a case for it, just might set America's GLBT community free.