Growing up as an independent fundamentalist Baptist, I was taught that loosening any standards meant you were getting on the slippery slope toward becoming gay. If I grew my hair out over my ears, I might eventually reject God and…
West Virginia bill would require ‘curing’ transgender people
In a season of extreme legislation against the transgender community, three West Virginia senators seek to up the ante with what has been called the “most draconian” legislation yet proposed against transgender identity. Senate Bill 194, would ban all gender-affirming…
Supreme Court won’t hear case seeking to overturn conversion therapy ban
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to take up the case of a Christian counselor who claimed a state law in Washington barring conversion therapy for gay youth infringed on his constitutional rights of speech and religion. This ends the…
Undoing the damage of conversion therapy
In 2021, the documentary Pray Away released on Netflix, detailing the history and harms of conversion therapy. It chronicles the rise and fall of Exodus International, whose primary mission was to make people who were “struggling with homosexuality” straight. During…
Review of research underscores harms of conversion therapy and importance of family affirmation
So-called “conversion therapy” or “reparative therapy” for children and teens within the LGBTQ community is “harmful and should never be provided,” according to new research released by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The terms refer to…
Dear Baylor, how long will you ignore Brittney Griner’s plight?
Dear Baylor administration: What could possibly be so difficult about acknowledging one of your alumnae who brought great fame to your school through a national basketball championship now languishing in a Russian penal colony and who needs to be brought…
When a teenager gets kicked to the curb by Christian parents
Editor’s note: This launches a series of opinion pieces over the coming weeks that will address the problems created by “ex-gay” ministries and those who continue to practice or advocate for the now-discredited forms of conversion therapy. The following column…
At Baylor University, the debate about LGBTQ students also is shaped by a network of churches embracing conversion therapy
While Baylor University has been in the news for its on-campus treatment of LGBTQ students, there’s another side to the story happening off campus that involves the controversial practice of conversion therapy. Sexual orientation change efforts, or conversion therapy, are…
John MacArthur rallies pastors to preach against government bans on conversion therapy Jan. 16
Government bans on the discredited practice of conversion therapy amount to persecution of evangelical Christians and an “attack on the word of God,” according to influential California pastor John MacArthur. The pastor who famously defied county and state authorities to…