WASHINGTON (ABP) — Claims by one of Ted Haggard's spiritual overseers that he is now “100 percent heterosexual” should be taken with a significant grain of salt, according to experts with differing opinions on the value of “ex-gay” or sexual-reorientation therapy.
Haggard stepped down as president of the National Association of Evangelicals — and was forced to resign as pastor of the Colorado Springs, Colo., megachurch he founded 22 years before — in November. The moves came following allegations from a Denver male prostitute that Haggard had paid him for sex and crystal methamphetamine over a three-year period.
Haggard initially denied the claims but later admitted “sexual immorality” to his congregation. He then went into a period of counseling with a board of overseers appointed by his congregation, New Life Church.
One of those overseers, Tim Ralph, said in a Feb. 6 Denver Post interview that Haggard was now straight, after three weeks of counseling.
“He is completely heterosexual,” Ralph said. “That is something he discovered. It was the acting-out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing.”
In an e-mail circulated to members of New Life on Feb. 4, Haggard broke his three-month silence on the subject. “We all wanted to know why I developed such incongruity in my life,” he wrote. “Thankfully, with the tools we gained there, along with the powerful way God has been illuminating his Word and the Holy Spirit has been convicting me and healing me, we now have growing understanding which is giving me some hope for the future.”
Haggard has reportedly reached a settlement with church leaders that forbids him from speaking publicly about the matter. But two experts — one supportive, one not — of therapy designed to change the sexual orientation of gays said Ralph's claim about Haggard may strain credulity.
“To be honest, I'm not aware of the specifics of what Mr. Haggard went through. But in my own personal experience that's not the case — and in the experience of everyone I've talked to,” said Randy Thomas, vice president of the Florida-based group Exodus International. Exodus' website says the organization believes that “reorientation of same-sex attraction is possible” through therapy “based upon a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”
But Thomas, who says he formerly struggled with a gay orientation, said successfully re-orienting one's sexuality typically takes much longer.
“Sexuality is very complex. So, for many people, depending on what issues they deal with … it could be months, it could be years,” he said. “So for someone to claim complete healing … I find that remarkable.”
Likewise, Utah psychologist Lee Beckstead said one's perception of his or her own sexuality may not square with one's actual physical attractions.
“The problem with this whole phenomenon is, it's a complex thing — the way people describe themselves and describe their sexuality, if you take it at face value, there's lots of ways to be misled,” he said.
Beckstead, like the majority of mental-health professionals, believes much of “ex-gay” therapy is psychologically harmful for people with homosexual orientations. However, he has done extensive research into the effects of sexual-reorientation therapy on people who have strong religious motivations for avoiding homosexual contact. Beckstead has argued among his peers for a more nuanced understanding of the psyches of such people before dismissing all aspects of “ex-gay” therapy.
People with religiously based antipathy toward homosexuality “need to see themselves as heterosexual, and their communities need to see them as heterosexual,” he said. “And so that kind of pressure kind of distorts the facts and distorts the information they present to other people.”
Beckstead also noted the distinctions between different kinds of understandings of sexuality. “If someone says they're heterosexual, does that mean their sexual identity, their sexual orientation or their sexual behavior?” he asked.
Exodus's Thomas said that Haggard's worldview may prevent him from confronting a sexual attraction to men head-on.
“There's a lot of people who deal with same-sex attraction who never identified as gay, who would never adopt that worldview. That might be the perspective he's coming from [but] I'm not positive,” he said.
If that is the case with Haggard, Thomas added, “I would imagine that the journey would continue — as it has for all of us who have overcome homosexuality.”
Beckstead said that, no matter what one's views are of ex-gay therapy, the first step for deeply religious people in reconciling their homosexuality with their spirituality is admitting they are attracted to people of the same gender.
“Sexuality doesn't go away — people have learned how to suppress it or repress it or distract themselves from it or repackage it,” he said. But the sexual drive and attractions — it's almost like putting a beach ball underwater. It's always going to pop back up.”
He continued: “I'm not sure what happened to Haggard. But if his therapy's all about not accepting the attractions, then … they're going to get out of control after a while.”
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