Is It Possible to Pray the Gay Away? | Psychology Today

Contents:

• ‘PRAY AWAY THE GAY’ HAS GONE AWAY. WHY ARE GOVERNMENTS TRYG TO STOP IT?
• IS IT POSSIBLE TO PRAY THE GAY AWAY?
• FORMER 'EX-GAY' LEARS DENOUNCE 'CONVERSN THERAPY' IN A NEW DOCUMENTARY
• PRAY AWAY: THE HARROWG TE STORY OF THE "EX-GAY" MUNY THE FILM
• ‘PRAY AWAY’ REVIEW: ATONG FOR AN ANTI-GAY STANCE
• NETFLIX'S 'PRAY AWAY' LOOKS BEHD THE CURTA OF THE 'EX-GAY' MOVEMENT
• NETFLIX'S 'PRAY AWAY' IS A HUMANIZG LOOK AT 'GAY CONVERSN' THERAPY SURVIVORS
• NETFLIX’S ‘PRAY AWAY’ DOCUMENTARY WILL REMD YOU THAT GAY CONVERSN IS STILL GOG ON
• WHAT DO “PRAY THE GAY AWAY” MEAN?
• PRAY THE GAY AWAY PAPERBACK – NOVEMBER 27, 2017
• CAN CATHOLICS “PRAY AWAY THE GAY?”
• PRAY THE GAY AWAY
• MILO YIANNOPOULOS TO GIVE “PRAY THE GAY AWAY” SPEECH AT PENN STATE UNIVERSY
• 5 THGS I LEARNED AT A 'PRAY AWAY THE GAY' CAMP
• PRAY AWAY GO DEEP INTO THE 'EX-GAY' MOVEMENT THAT BEGAN THE '70S
• ‘PRAY THE GAY AWAY’ LIVE: ZAKAR TWS INVE AUDIENC TO THEIR LGBTQ COMEDY PLAY

‘PRAY AWAY THE GAY’ HAS GONE AWAY. WHY ARE GOVERNMENTS TRYG TO STOP IT?

Exod Internatnal, evangelilism’s flagship ex-gay mistry, shut down 2013 after former lear Alan Chambers said had ed pa and harm to too many people and that more than 99 percent of those who’d sought help there hadn’t actually experienced an orientatn change. While mistri cludg Exod Internatnal and Foc on the Fay ed to preach that homosexual sire should be elimated, most evangelil church, pastors, and mental health profsnals today emphasize chasty amid sir that might last a lifetime. Even the Nashville Statement, a 14-pot manifto by the plementarian Council of Biblil Manhood and Womanhood, matas that homosexual sire may never change.

The revelatns surroundg Marc Bachmann's psychotherapy practice along wh his statements equatg gay people to barbarians reflect the eply held view among too many people that homosexualy is a psychologil or moral choice that n be altered and ed should be. There are several nservative relig anizatns, like Exod Internatnal and Homosexuals Anonymo, that claim to have helped people change their sexual orientatn through prayer, unselg, or a batn of both. Moreover, there are licensed mental health profsnals who practice what are lled reparative or nversn therapi signed to make gay people heterosexual.

The bt-known group of such clicians is the Natnal Associatn for Rearch and Therapy of Homosexualy (NARTH), led by psychologist Joseph Nilosi. He and his followers claim that gays and lbians suffer om a damagg blend of childhood trma, shamg their fai of orig, and chronic unmet needs for love and affectn om their same-sex parents. Reparative therapy supposedly helps gay clients bee heterosexual by workg wh them to amelrate toxic feelgs stemmg om their damaged childhoods.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO PRAY THE GAY AWAY?

Robert Spzer, a proment psychiatrist who, oddly enough, led the charge to remove homosexualy as a disease om the Diagnostic and Statistil Manual, had unrtaken rearch wh 200 women and men who unrwent reparative therapy and believed themselv to be "cured" of homosexualy, as evinced by their abily to engage sexual relatns wh the oppose sex, marry heterosexually, and nceive children. In fact, there are many reports of people unrgog treatments offered by ex-gay mistri who not only return to homosexualy but have also been trmatized by this so-lled therapy. It is important to regnize that the great majory of psychotherapy profsnals argue vociferoly that such "treatment" is uhil bee homosexualy is not an illns — rather the "illns" is our tolerance of sexual and genr behavrs fallg outsi rtrictive societal norms.

I also tell clients that reparative and nversn therapi, bis beg effective, are psychologilly harmful to gays and lbians, which is another reason I do not remend them and will not assist clients procurg such treatment.

FORMER 'EX-GAY' LEARS DENOUNCE 'CONVERSN THERAPY' IN A NEW DOCUMENTARY

People like Marc and Michele Bachmann believe that acceptg and even celebratg gay and lbian people will evably lead to the moral cle of our society. It's a movement that's born out of a larger culture of homophobia and transphobia that still persists the majory of Christian church today.

Interview highlights clu extend web-only answers and have been eded for length and clary: Interview Highlights Thomas on how he joed the "ex-gay" movement and Exod Internatnal I was out of the closet the '80s. They also had a group for the gays, and unrneath all of that olns there was this toxic theology that said that you need to overe homosexualy. Stolakis on what the ex-gay and nversn therapy movement looks like today Conversn therapy and the ex-LGBTQ movement has always been practiced lolly.

It's bee very lennial-driven bee there are younger people who've grown up homophobic and transphobic environments who are ready and willg to take the place of people like Randy. Pray Away has only jt been released on Netflix this week, but 's been grippg dienc ever documentary, which was directed by Kriste Stolakis, tells the story of the -founrs of Exod Internatnal and the leadg figur of the ex-gay what spired to Stolakis to make the film and where are some of the film's key characters now? Much of the teachg behd suggts that those who are gay mt be sufferg om mental health problems due to eher sexual or physil abe by a parent or aquate or toxic parentg.

PRAY AWAY: THE HARROWG TE STORY OF THE "EX-GAY" MUNY THE FILM

Exod Internatnal was a non-prof, ternomatnal Umbrella anisatn, that sought to help people who wished to change their homosexual sir. The anisatn, which was formed 1976, believed that nversn therapy and the re-orientatn of sexual attractn was possible or that they uld more lloquially “pray the gay away”. Bsee went on to bee an outspoken cric of Exod and the ex-gay movement and on 27 June 2007 Bsee - wh follow former Exod lears Jeremy Marks and Darlene Bogle issued a public apology for their rol the group.

He was the founr of Foc On The Fay's ex-gay mistry Love Won Out and the former chairman of Exod Internatnal North Ameri.

He later renounced his ex-gay stat, nied that nversn therapy is effective and issued an apology for the harm he had ed 2013. Livg her life as an openly gay woman, Rodgers found acceptance a new Christian muny and ntu to talk about her experienc as a survivor of nversn therapy orr to help at-risk LGBTQ 2021, she also released her tobgraphy, Outlove: A Queer Christian Survival Story, and lnched the Outlove Project - which along wh the Trevor Project seeks to help at-risk LGBTQ youth and prevent suici and self-harm.

‘PRAY AWAY’ REVIEW: ATONG FOR AN ANTI-GAY STANCE

Movi|‘Pray Away’ Review: Atong for an Anti-Gay Stance ADVERTISEMENTIn this documentary, people who had promoted the ia that sexual orientatn uld be changed exprs their AwayDirected by Kriste StolakisDocumentaryPG-131h 41mThe Netflix documentary “Pray Away” profil several people who, the public sphere and the ntext of Christiany-cloaked “nversn therapy, ” peddled the ia that homosexualy uld be changed, and who now regret the sufferg they ed. Michael Bsee, a founr of Exod Internatnal, nsired one of the major anizatns that preached that sexual orientatn uld be changed, was both an early promoter and an early harms nversn therapy , and the tactics , aren’t news at this pot, and “Pray Away” is more tertg when foc on how most of s subjects eventually embraced gay and bisexual inti spe havg formerly been so public their homophobia.

When Amerin documentarian Kriste Stolakis set out to make her but feature film, she knew she wanted to she a light on the “ex-gay” movement, which nsists of those that believe a person’s genr inty or sexual orientatn n be changed. Really is a movement of hurt people hurtg other people, of what ternalized homophobia and transphobia looks like when is wield outward. Shot before the Covid-19 panmic, the film chronicl the rise — and subsequent fall — of Exod Internatnal, a nversn therapy anizatn that, acrdg to the team behd the the film, began as a Bible study group the 1970s nsistg of five evangelil men who were lookg to help one another leave the “homosexual liftyle.

But years after risg to stardom the relig right, many of the “ex-gay” lears, whose own same-sex attractns never went away, have sce e out as LGBTQ and disavowed the very movement that they helped to grow. Stolakis’ list of terviewe “Pray Away” clus Randy Thomas, the fal vice print of Exod Internatnal; Yvette Cantu Schneir, the former head of Exod’ women’s mistri; and John Plk, one of the most bt-known “ex-gay” people the world.

NETFLIX'S 'PRAY AWAY' LOOKS BEHD THE CURTA OF THE 'EX-GAY' MOVEMENT

“Somethg my team and I talked about a lot makg this film is, this really is a movement of hurt people hurtg other people, of what ternalized homophobia and transphobia looks like when is wield outward, ” said Stolakis, whose other directorial creds clu “The Typist” and “Where We Stand.

NETFLIX'S 'PRAY AWAY' IS A HUMANIZG LOOK AT 'GAY CONVERSN' THERAPY SURVIVORS

”While many former lears have renounced and spoken out agast the “pray the gay away” movement, Stolakis said “the larger culture of homophobia and transphobia, ” particularly relig muni, has allowed the movement to ntue wh younger lears, even wh the dissolutn of Exod Internatnal 2013 and the legalizatn of same-sex marriage the U.

Alone, nearly 700, 000 lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr adults have been subjected to some form of nversn therapy durg their lifetime, acrdg to a 2019 report om the Williams Instute at the UCLA School of Law. ”Wh “Pray Away” set to but more than 190 untri on Netflix this week, Stolakis wants to make one thg clear to every prospective viewer: The “ex-gay” movement was never led by jt “a uple of bad appl. ”“As long as that larger culture of homophobia and transphobia exists — be our church, any relig muny, our polil sphere or our culture — some versn of nversn therapy and the ex-LGBTQ movement will ntue, ” she explaed.

Featured promently are former “ex-gay” figur like John Plk and Julie Rodgers, who expla how they me to embrace reparative ― or “gay nversn” ― therapy, only to nounce the practice and acknowledge their te LGBTQ selv later.

NETFLIX’S ‘PRAY AWAY’ DOCUMENTARY WILL REMD YOU THAT GAY CONVERSN IS STILL GOG ON

The Amerin Medil Associatn, the Amerin Psychologil Associatn and the Amerin Amy of Pediatrics have all discreded the “ex-gay” movement spired two Hollywood films, “Boy Erased” and “The Mistn of Cameron Post. The first thg that Netflix’s Pray Away documentary do is remd viewers that gay nversn therapy is not a thg of the past. It’s shockgly siar to the ttimony given by the lears of the ex-gay movement over thirty years ago, several of whom are featured Pray Away after leavg the movement and formally apologizg to the LGBTQ muny.

John Plk, for stance, was the poster child for the “former homosexual” who succsfully nverted to the straight liftyle. He appeared wh his wife Anne on the ver of Newsweek magaze 1998, and both of them appeared on talk show after talk show to reunt how both of them were gay, but ma a nsc effort to change. Plk soon joed the board of the Christian anti-homosexualy group known as Exod Internatnal, which was found 1976 and disband 2013.

Bee I was dishont, ed people the dience—people that were stgglg wh homosexualy or had gay feelgs—to feel like, ‘There mt be somethg wrong wh me, bee I’m not like him. (Plk’s wife Anne cled to be terviewed for the documentary and ntu to spread anti-gay msagg as the head of a new Christian ex-gay mistry.

WHAT DO “PRAY THE GAY AWAY” MEAN?

Her story is particularly tragic—after g out to her mom at 14, she was forced to see a man named Ricky Chelette who ran another relig ex-gay therapy anizatn lled Livg Hope. Rogers fally left the ex-gay movement after bearg wns to an emotnal, televised group therapy ssn 2013, which survivors of the ex-gay movement unload their trma onto Exod print Alan Chambers.

Chambers, too, was so shaken by the stori shared by the “ex-ex-gays” that he and others disband Exod that year, issug a public apology to the LGBTQ muny.

You n’t help but wonr if McCall, like the ex-gay lears before him, will ever look back on that phone ll and acknowledge how much damage he likely ed. Cast & crewUser reviewsTrivia2021PG-131h 41mFormer lears of the "pray the gay away" movement ntend wh the aftermath unleashed by their actns, while a survivor seeks healg and acceptance om more than a of lears of the "pray the gay away" movement ntend wh the aftermath unleashed by their actns, while a survivor seeks healg and acceptance om more than a of lears of the "pray the gay away" movement ntend wh the aftermath unleashed by their actns, while a survivor seeks healg and acceptance om more than a of productn, box office & pany Vios1More like thisReview of Missed the MarkI was expectg many stori om those who had to experience "nversn therapy" and what they went through.

PRAY THE GAY AWAY PAPERBACK – NOVEMBER 27, 2017

This played more like buyer's remorse om "ex-ex gays", wh some random storyle thrown about a maybe former Trans person who hosts paras for ex trans somethg (I do not unrstand why that was thrown here. The term “pray the gay away” is often ed as a term to reprent a belief that a person’s sexual orientatn or genr inty n be changed through prayer. A large part of this belief system is the e of gay nversn therapy, often unr the guise of different nam like “genr rercement” or “inty dysfunctn”.

Our show, “Pray the Gay Away”®, is a ser mil edy that looks at many polil, theologil and cultural beliefs the Uned Stat that have fueled both the growth and rejectn of morn nversn therapy. Gay nversn therapy is an approach that has been ed for over a century worldwi, but the morn versn of gay nversn therapy grew strength and ntued to build startg the 1980’s. Our show, “Pray the Gay Away”®, is set 1982 as we show the growg support for gay nversn therapy that to nflict wh the growth of the gay rights movement (known today as LGBQT+ Rights).

Here are a few articl to get you started on the topics of gay nversn therapy and the belief systems that are referred to as “pray the gay away”. Our mom threw holy water at when we me The Gay Awaychronicl the 7-year journey of the Zakar Tws as they face g out to each other and their crazy Iraqi mother who tried to pray their gay away. Below we will break down what Pray Away is about, when you n watch , and other key tails about the highly-anticipated Away Premier Augt 3 On NetflixStartg Tuday, Augt 3, everyone wh a Netflix subscriptn will be able to watch Pray Away streamg and learn about the nversn therapy movement, s lears, and the harm has ed to the LGBTQ+ muny over the urse of the past few s as well as how some of those volved are still alg wh s effects all the years Away Tells The Story Of The ‘Pray The Gay Away’ Conversn Therapy Movement And Its Regretful LearsThe Pray Away Netflix documentary will center on the rise of the “Pray the Gay Away” movement as told by former members of Exod Internatnal, a group found the 1970s by a five "ex-gay" men an evangelil church who felt prayer and their fah uld cure them of their hoxosexualy and fd out why they were that way.

CAN CATHOLICS “PRAY AWAY THE GAY?”

It wasn’t until I disvered lears of the movement, people who claimed that they had themselv changed om gay to straight who were teachg others to do the same, that I unrstood the pth of his hope and his rultg trma when he, of urse, was unable to change story of her uncle and her own qutns about nversn therapy general led to Kriste Stolakis embarkg upon a four-year journey wh Pray Away beg the rult of those Away Is The Latt Collaboratn Between Blumhoe And Ryan MurphyThe Pray Away Netflix documentary was ma possible through a llaboratn between Jason Blum’s Blumhoe Televisn and Ryan Murphy, acrdg to Netflix.

PRAY THE GAY AWAY

We s down wh Andrew and Mar om Dert Stream Mistri to discs the falsehood of the emotnally charged reactn to “pray away the gay. I have followed Zach and Michael Zakar on social media (Instagram and Twter) for some time now and was terted readg their story for some wasn't a look to nversn mps, but was an enlighteng glimpse to the liv of two gay people growg up a relig fay wh an overbearg 2 books5 followersAugt 25, 2018I met the thors Michael and Zach Zakar at the Ferndale Pri here Michigan and y they are as good lookg and charmg person as they are this book!

"Pray the Gay Away"is laid out a format where we read om each brother's perspective at different ag which is pretty ol. They nsir at pots and stggle wh at pots so you do get a taste of that stggle for sure but they really never buy to their mother's "pray the gay away" mantra. Rather, their story is more a g of gay-age story that leads to many fights agast their mother, and at tim each other and bigger qutns about self image as a young gay man.

6 reviews7 followersJanuary 16, 2018Good ReadThis was a nice read and very relatable for a fellow gay Arab Christian man.

MILO YIANNOPOULOS TO GIVE “PRAY THE GAY AWAY” SPEECH AT PENN STATE UNIVERSY

Read-bgraphi-memoirs read-lgbtqDecember 15, 2019This is a very good book about tw gay boys that disver their sexualy the midst of a crazy fay. They also leave out all sorts of tails about their liv, cludg most sexual enunters or how they've grown as gay men, and the stori that are revealed seem packaged like a s. The boys are immoral and uhil, bad children, then wonr why they are still sad and unhappy--blamg on how gays are treated stead of seeg that they have ed many of their own problems.

5 THGS I LEARNED AT A 'PRAY AWAY THE GAY' CAMP

Tholicism gay lgbt 352 reviews9 followersJune 1, 2022I had the fortune of meetg the Zakar Tws at Dragn workg Jackie Cox’ booth, and got to purchase this directly om them.

That asi, this was a fantastic behd-the-curtas look at what means to grow up gay a relig hoehold, and followg them on social media shows how well someone n pull through that. 5Pray AwayStoryleEdUser reviewsBe the first to reviewBe the first to reviewTop picksSign to rate and Watchlist for personalized remendatnsSign DetailsEdRelease dateJuly 5, 2022 (Uned Stat)Country of origUned StatLanguagEnglishKoreanSee more pany creds at IMDbProBox officeEdBudget$10, 000 (timated)See tailed box office on IMDbProTechnil specsEdRuntime12 mutRelated newsContribute to this pageSuggt an ed or add missg ntentTop GapWhat is the English language plot outle for Pray the Gay Away (2022)?

Conservative troll Milo Yiannopoulos is schled to speak at Pennsylvania State Universy at a November 3 event lled “Pray the Gay Away, ” a nod to his recent claim that he is a “ex-gay.

PRAY AWAY GO DEEP INTO THE 'EX-GAY' MOVEMENT THAT BEGAN THE '70S

Recently as proof that he’s “ex-gay, ” he threw his “sodomy stone” — his $150, 000 engagement rg — to the ocean while dnk on a boat. By the end of the so-lled 'treatments, ' I believed the ernment was lookg for me bee the gays had brought AIDS to Ameri and that I now had this disease ragg through me. " That is, they assumed that bee he was gay, 's bee his ntrollg mother and adbeat dad had nfed and irreparably trmatized his genals.

‘PRAY THE GAY AWAY’ LIVE: ZAKAR TWS INVE AUDIENC TO THEIR LGBTQ COMEDY PLAY

In fact, he got so ed to reprsg his te self that, even after he me out, he wasn't entirely sure how to be: When he got to llege and first enuntered the gay muny, he immediately "me out a ball of glter. " He embraced a sparkly, Freddy Mercury-stage-show-liftyle bee he saw a bunch of out-and-proud homosexuals and thought that was how was done. Go to a hardware store on the day of the gay pri para and you might hear an old du wh a beer gut lament, "Why do them gays have to be so flamboyant?

But if you see somebody sportg an outlandish stume, 's not about makg homosexualy look fun to help "turn kids gay" (if Sam's gayns uld survive electroshock torture, then we're pretty sure another kid's straightns n survive a few paras and some sequ boas); 's about showg closeted gay kids that homosexualy isn't tomatilly a lifetime of misery. For more sir perspectiv, check out 5 Reali of Beg Gay a Country Where It's Illegal and 6 Shockg Reali of the Secret 'Troubled Teen Indtry'. The new Netflix documentary Pray Away exam the Exod "ex-gay" movement that was found the '70s by five men the evangelil church who sought to pray the gay word got out about the group that was seekg to ex the "homosexual liftyle, " the men received more than 25, 000 letters om folks hopg to do the same, and spurred the formatn of Exod Internatnal, the largt and most ntroversial nversn therapy anizatn the world, acrdg to the film's synopsis for the film om executive producers Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum reads:"But lears stggled wh a secret: their own 'same-sex attractns' never went away.

Focg on the dramatic journeys of former nversn therapy lears, current members, and a survivor, Pray Away chronicl the 'ex gay' movement's rise to power, persistent fluence, and the profound harm .