“Homosexuals Can Change, Research Says.” This headline was typical of the overblown reporting of a talk given by psychiatrist Robert Spitzer at this year’s meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. Spitzer’s own expressed cautions about the likely misuse of his presentation tended to get lost the mass media and much of the religious press. His talk was entitled “200 Subjects Who Claim to Have Changed Their Sexual Orientation from Homosexual to Heterosexual.” The Columbia University psychiatrist explicitly warned against the idea that “homosexual orientation is changeable for most highly motivated individuals.” He likewise warned against “dismiss[ing] the value to some conflicted homosexuals of a shift in sexual identity and unwanted sexual behavior, even when sexual orientation is not substantially changed.” He also cautioned against misusing his report “to imply that homosexuals should try to change,” that it be misused “to justify coercive treatment,” and that it be misused for “the denial of civil rights to homosexuals.”
Acknowledging that the “mental health professional consensus” is that “homosexual orientation can never be changed” though, of course, “homosexual behavior can be resisted, renounced or relabeled,” Spitzer reported on his 45-minute phone interviews with 200 “ex-gays” recruited from Exodus and other “ex-gay” and “reparative therapy” ministries. He said that, on the basis of the self-claims of these “ex-gay” men and women, he labeled 66% of the men and 44 % of the women as having achieved “good heterosexual functioning,” that is, they claimed they had heterosexual sex at least monthly and claimed they rarely thought of same-sex partners while engaging in heterosexual sex acts. However, only 11% of the “ex-gay” men and 37% of the “ex-gay” women reported an absence of same-sex attraction, feelings and fantasies. “Stormy” and “painful” experience in their “gay life-style” was said to motivate efforts to change in 81% of these “ex-gays” and 79% expressed “religious conflict” (93% — mostly Protestants – claimed that religion was “extremely” or “very important” to them).
Spitzer concluded that the number of homosexuals who could become heterosexual was likely to be “pretty low.” He noted that “the difficulty finding subjects [over a period of 16 months] suggest[ed] the likelihood that the substantial changes reported by our subjects are relatively uncommon in all individuals who make a change effort.” He himself does not practice “reparative therapy” and he stands by his 1973 support of the APA’s decision to drop homosexuality from its list of mental disorders in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual.
After his APA talk was picked up by the popular media and headlined as “proof” that homosexuality is a choice and that many homosexuals are becoming heterosexuals in the “ex-gay” movement, Spitzer wrote a commentary published in The Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2001. In that essay, Spitzer says that, “to my horror, some of the media reported the study as an attempt to show that homosexuality is a choice, and that substantial change is possible for any homosexual who decides to make the effort.” He insists that “only a very few, I suspect, can substantially change.” He goes on to state: “I suspect the vast majority of gay people would be unable to alter by much a firmly established homosexual orientation.” He repeats his opposition to anyone’s – including parents’ – coercing a homosexual to enter treatment to become an “ex-gay.”
“I’m willing to admit that I like controversy and to be in the center of burning debates.” This acknowledgement from Robert Spitzer, in a June 19 interview in The Advocate, a leading national GLBT publication, perhaps comes as close as anything to account for why he undertook his controversial highlighting of “ex-gay” testimonies. He said: “Look, I’m a Jew atheist. I’m not really comfortable appearing with right-wing groups. I’m certainly not for telling people they should change for political or religious reasons.” And he added: “Of course sexual orientation is not a matter of choice.”
Hope College psychologist David G. Myers reflects on the Spitzer report on his Web site. He notes Spitzer’s difficulty in finding “ex-gays” to interview and asks: “If a parallel effort were made to collect and document the failed efforts of other homosexuals to change through ex-gay ministries …, how many times more cases would it be possible to collect?” He also observes that “retrospective patient recall is notoriously untrustworthy.” He alludes to “a large research literature [that] documents people’s tendencies to construct memories that support their current views.” Says Myers: “Given the ambiguity of after-the-fact testimonials (one can collect snake oil, homeopathy and therapeutic touch), researchers who evaluate therapeutic effectiveness now routinely turn to the most powerful tool for winnowing wishful thinking from reality: the controlled experiment. It’s routine, and it’s a wonder that both believers and skeptics of sexual reorientation are not calling for such research (which to my knowledge has never been done). It would involved three simple steps: a) Identify a group of volunteers wishing to undergo sexual reorientation. As them to report their feelings and fantasies, and measure their sexual responding to same- and other-sex stimuli. b) Randomly assign some to receive the treatment, the others to a wait-list control group (and/or various alternative therapies) c)At some point after the treatment, reassess sexual orientation by the self-report and behavioral measures.” Myers’ discussion is on his Web site at www.davidmyers.org/sexorient/Spitzer.com .
U. S. Surgeon General David Satcher says there is no valid scientific evidence that a person’s sexual orientation can be changed. His report also warned of psychological damage that can result from attempts to change. These findings are part of an overall sexuality report issued by the Surgeon General on June 28. In view of the alarmingly high rates of teen pregnancy, sexually-transmitted disease, abortion, and antagonism against homosexuals, Satcher urges Americans to break the “conspiracy of silence” surrounding issues of human sexuality and have a frankly honest and effective national discussion.
The board of the “ex-gay” Exodus network has reinstated John Paulk, its former chairman, to the board. Paulk was removed last fall when news broke that he had been found loitering inside a gay bar in Washington, DC. He was never removed from his job as manager of Focus on the Family’s Homosexuality and Gender Department.
John Paulk emceed several hundred worried parents, teachers and preachers at an “ex-gay” rally outside Philadelphia in April. He acknowledged his having been caught in a Washington, DC gay bar last fall, admitting he’s “still susceptible to familiar temptations.” Other “ex-gays” who gave their testimonies echoed the same continuing “lapses.” The highlighted message of this “Love Won Out” meeting, sponsored by Focus on the Family, was this: “Satan has counterfeited sexuality” and the “ex-gay” ministry is the answer. However, according to Joseph Nicolosi, the psychologist whose views underpin the Focus campaign, homosexuality is easier to prevent than to treat. Therefore, there was a big emphasis on spotting the early-warning signs of homosexuality in youngsters: e.g. boys with particularly sensitive temperaments, boys who are aesthetically inclined, and boys who pay too much attention to either well- or badly dressed women. The signs in pre-lesbian girls were said to include tomboy behaviors and a dislike of fancy clothes.
The Advocate, featured an interview with John Paulk in its June 5 issue. Asked: “Do you now consider yourself a heterosexual?,” Paulk replied: “A heterosexual who has come out of homosexuality. Sexuality is not a black-and-white issue. There is gray all over the spectrum.” Asked: “Do you still have homosexual feelings?,” Paul replied: “It’s hard to answer the question, because what are homosexual feelings? I can find men attractive, because I’m not dead – just like I can find women attractive.” Asked what first attracted him to his “ex-lesbian” wife, he replied simply: “Her character.” The Advocate: “Nothing physical?” Paulk: “See, when people come out of homosexuality – I think a misperception is that they’re going to become this raging heteorsexual, just like the Marlboro Man. That’s absurd.”
Paulk is asked why Exodus doesn’t publish statistics on success and he says: “Because we can’t. There’s no way of following those people to see if what they received at Exodus is working or not.” Asked about the continuing lawsuits about homosexual scandals within the “ex-gay” movement and about ex-“ex-gay” leaders’ renouncing the “ex-gay” claims, Paul responds: “Coming out of homosexuality is a very difficult thing to do. Not everybody that embarks upon this is going to make it.”
The registration form for the 2001 Exodus “ex-gay” summer conference provides identification boxes for “Homosexual Struggler,” “Friend of Struggler,” “Spouse of Struggler,” and “Parent of Struggler.” There is no box for “ex-gay.”
The “Code of Conduct” specifies that “disruption of the conference is not acceptable.” Such disruption includes “seeking sexual contacts.” Regarding “Roommate Requests” it is stated that “the ministry or group leader, or an authorized designate is responsible for matching roommates within his or her own group.” A “Liability Release” must be signed by each conferee: “I understand that the subject matter at the EXODUS 2001 may be potentially unsettling. I voluntarily and personally assume responsibility for my participation in any and all aspects of the conference, and release Exodus International, its board, staff, and any other conference teachers or contributors from any claim whatsoever for damages alleged as a direct or indirect result of participation in this conference.”
Exodus International director Bob Davies has announced his retirement. Davies is set to leave his position with the “ex-gay” organization in the fall. Given the numerous sex scandals that have beset the leadership of the “ex-gay” movement, Davies’ announcement included his saying: “There are no hidden scandals about to be revealed in my life. It is time for me to pass the baton on to the next runner, someone with fresh vision, giftings, and enthusiasm to continue the race.”
The Catholic University of America reversed its decision to host a summer conference sponsored by a group led by “ex-gay” Anthony Falzarano. The University charged that Falzarano had misrepresented the conference’s focus to be on child sexual abuse instead of claims of “healing” for homosexuals.
100 Christian Books That Changed the Century is a book its Preface calls “an exploration of the one hundred most influential Christian books of the twentieth century.” The book is published by the evangelical house, Fleming H. Revell, and edited by William J. Petersen and Randy Petersen, prolific evangelical writers. Among the celebrated authors there are at least eleven clearly gay-friendly, four possibly gay themselves, and four definitely gay. Blurbs are by evangelicals who are not gay-friendly. Charles Colson calls this collection “the best of our modern heritage.” J. I. Packer says “it maps conservative Christian reading during the past century.” Says Carl F. H. Henry: “This is more than a sampling of edifying and rewarding evangelical literature. It will promote and encourage worthwhile reading habits and will call evangelicals to higher ground.” According to Sherwood Wirt, it’s “like meeting some of God’s greatest servants in our own time.”
Two retired Lutheran bishops have written Sexual Fulfillment, a book “for single and married, straight and gay, young and old.” Herbert W. Chilstrom was Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Lowell O. Erdahl served as Bishop of the ELCA’s St. Paul Area Synod. Recognizing that neither heterosexual nor homosexual orientation is a choice and that neither can be changed, they quote Luther: that “in matters of sex our words and conduct are [to be] pure and honorable.” They believe “the same high standard should be the guide for homosexual relationships.” They observe: “There are those who believe that genital experimentation may be a necessary part of the process of gays and lesbians coming to full discovery of their sexual orientation. We fear that such experimenting, like heterosexual testing of sexual compatibility by having relations prior to a committed relationship, would be like testing a parachute by jumping out of a fifth-story window. Without sufficient height, a parachute cannot be tested. Without sufficient depth, a sexual relationship cannot be tested.” They list Evangelicals Concerned among “Christian Organizations Focusing on Lesbian and Gay Concerns.” The publisher is the ELCA’s own press: Augsburg, www.augsburgfortress.org.
According to a news report in The Christian Century, Augsburg lost more that $3 million last year and another $2.3 million in the first quarter of 2001.
An openly lesbian woman has been ordained to the ministry at an Evangelical Lutheran church in St. Paul, Minnesota. On April 28, St. Paul-Reformation Lutheran Church broke the ELCA’s rule against ordination of a person in a same-sex union and ordained Anita Hill. She had been licensed by her synod since 1994 to preach and administer holy communion there. She says her congregation is “a church afire with the Holy Spirit.”
Vancouver chapter of Integrity, the organization of gay and lesbian Anglicans, has elected an evangelical as its president. Steve Schuh, a graduate of evangelical Regent College, says of his election: `The old stereotypes are crumbling. More and more evangelicals are supportive of gay people and their committed relationships, and gay people are increasingly aware that not all evangelicals are against them. `Gay evangelical’ is not an oxymoron.” Schuh is involved with Evangelicals Concerned as well as with Integrity.
Right-wing Methodists have attacked the dean of the Duke University Chapel ever since the University ruled that same-sex union services could be held in the chapel. Writing in Christian Century, William H. Willimon says that UM Action has organized a massive e-mail campaign to “pull the plug” on him. He says he’s “never met people like these UM Action people.” He forwarded “some of the more salacious e-mails to Mark Tooley, director of UM Action, since he instituted it all. He wrote back saying, If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.” Willimon explains: “I did not `approve’ of same-sex unions, and I will not perform them.” He points out: “My fate is ironic, since I have frequently decried the mushy, pluralistic tolerance of the modern university which, in the interest of can’t-we-just-all-get-along diversity, accepts just about everything without engaging the real differences among us. This episode suggests to me that, though liberal tolerance has its theological problems, the intolerance of the Christian right is a theological embarrassment.” Willimon says he’s “trapped between my unwillingness to invoke liberal canons of tolerance and diversity and my repugnance for the skewed biblical interpretation of Mark Tooley’s cyber-storm troops.”
Wesleyan University is set to appoint a full-time professor to teach gay studies. Classes will start in the fall of 2002. Wesleyan, in Middletown, Connecticut, was named for John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church.
“What is it like being gay at Calvin College?” That’s the question posed and answered by a senior civil engineering student at the Christian Reformed Church’s flagship school. Benjamin P. McCloskey testifies: “Being gay at Calvin College is the most unpardonable, the most untouchable, the most unspeakable thing to be.” Writing in Chimes, the campus newspaper, he says: “My first year and half at Calvin found me agreeing with the traditional, evangelical view of homosexuality as sinful. I believed, as the church wanted me to believe, that I could either change my sexuality or repress it. I prayed, read books, attempted to change my desire, and prayed some more. The only change that manifested itself in me was that I became progressively more depressed. …When I was at my breaking point, God provided. Christian friends and counselors told me that it is okay to be gay. I came to realize that my sexuality is an integral part of who I am. … My personal relationship with God has actually improved and blossomed and grown since coming to accept my sexuality as being a part of who I am rather than as something to be fixed or changed.”
Calvin College students, staff and faculty observed another Ribbon Week to promote love and respect for gay men and lesbians. It was the third year that small loops of violet ribbon were worn on the campus of this church college of the conservative Christian Reformed denomination. A panel discussion provided the opportunity for two students, a staff member and an alumna to share their stories of being gay or lesbian at Calvin. Additional events included a film presentation and discussion, two chapel services, and a moment of silence “out of respect for those who must be silent every day.”
Lewis B. Smedes, who once taught at Calvin and is now retired from Fuller Theological Seminary, has been honored with the creation of the Lewis B. Smedes Chair of Christian Ethics at Fuller. Glen Stassen has been named to this professorship.
Smedes has keynoted both the eastern and western summer conferences of Evangelicals Concerned. In the Reformed journal, Perspectives (May 1999) Smedes asserts that, with reference to Paul’s comments in Romans 1:18-27, “we can be certain [Paul did not mean] Christian homosexual persons who are living their need for abiding love in monogamous and covenanted partnerships of love.” To those who claim that the church asks no more of homosexuals than it does of single heterosexuals, Smedes counters: “But in fact, it does ask more, much more.” He points out: “To single people in general it says: you must choose between celibacy and marriage. But to all homosexuals it says: You have no choice; you may not marry and you must be celibate.”
The Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly favors lifting the ban on gay ordinations. In June, the denomination’s highest body of representatives voted 317-208 to revise the 1997 standard that limits ordination of ministers, deacons and elders to those who “live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness.” Now the measure goes to a vote of the church’s 173 regional legislatures. The restrictive standard withstood a repeal effort in 1998. Meanwhile, a third of the denomination’s churches are without pastors – 3,897 local churches.
“I am more than a little tired of talking about [homosexuality].” So says the pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Oneida, New York (in a letter to the editor of Christian Century). Robert Campbell says he thinks homosexual behavior is wrong but that “we talk about homosexuals because there are so few of them, and that takes the focus off my sin. How about a good debate on the doctrine of the Trinity and how that doctrine impacts our lives today? Maybe we could talk about economic sin! … But let’s stop talking about sex.”
President Bush selected an openly gay man to head the White House Office of AIDS Policy. He is 38-year-old Scott Evertz, a Roman Catholic, president of the Wisconsin Log Cabin Republicans (the nation’s largest lesbian and gay Republican group), and a fund-raiser for a Lutheran-owned senior citizens’ program, the Wisconsin Right to Life organization, and a Catholic AIDS ministry. The White House also announced that Evertz will hold a seat on the White House Domestic Policy Council, which means that he’ll be the first openly gay person ever to be appointed to that inner-circle group.
The Religious Right is up in arms over the selection. James Dobson of Focus on the Family sees it as “creating confusion and frustration for millions of pro-family, social conservatives.” Lou Sheldon of Traditional Values Coalition fumes: “Evertz’s whole approach is homosexuality is a viable life alternative. Bible-believing Christians don’t believe that for one second. We don’t want this to become the leak in the dike.” And Beverly LaHaye, wife of Tim LaHaye and founder of Concerned Women for America complains: “Even Bill Clinton wasn’t this blatant!”
Lynne Cheney is supporting President Bush’s decision to install an openly gay man as AIDS czar. In spite of angry protests from the Religious Right, the Vice-President’s wife explained that she thinks “a person who is gay should have every opportunity.” Cheney, a leading conservative scholar and writer, continues her connection with a conservative Washing think tank. One of the Cheney daughters is openly lesbian.
AND FINALLY:
A Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More Than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers (Hendrickson), lists 15 quotes under “Homosexuality.” All are presented as antigay, half are vague, a third have to do with pederasty (the Romans “collect herds of boys like grazing horses”), and others are about “effeminacy,” cross-dressing, or Sodom. Not one addresses our contemporary phenomena of homosexual orientation and same-sex relationship between peers. The preface warns of “Three Mistakes to Avoid” in using this dictionary. Editor David W. Bercot cautions that the “most common mistake,” notwithstanding the subtitle, is to use the quotes as “proof-texts … noting quotations that bolster our personal beliefs [so that] we make it appear that the early Christians believed exactly as we do.”