Pious Frauds

I want to say something that was on my mind. That something is Ex-Gay Ministries. If you don’t know what they are here is a short description, they are groups of conservative theists who believe that through prayer and giving one self to Jesus Christ one will cure themselves of their same - sex desires. There are many of these ministries throughout the U.S. and around the world. Playing into fear and shame that gays and there families go through, these ministries charge huge fees with the promise to get their gay family members to become straight. None of these ministries truly have any scientific data to support any of their claims.
These ministries claim to have many successes and advertise them to desperate people and their families. Surveys have shown that they have a 12 percent success rate. But lets look at what is behind these numbers. 4 percent I have found out are celibate, walling off there sexuality completely. Another 4 percent are superficially straight in behavior, but their orientation is still gay. This group is always on guard and repressing their gayness by examining every action they take and how it might be perceived by their Christian peers, as gay or straight. The other 4 percent is what I like to call ex-gay for pay. What I mean is that they are like they previous 4 percent, but they go around and publicly declare their ex gayness while being a living advertisement for a particular ex gay ministry on television and in the print media. Of all categories of ex gays, the hardest one to break away from would be the last one, because for some this is their only source of income. And repression of ones own true orientation is never healthy for the psyche and that the repressed desire will come fourth at an inappropriate time and ruin the facade that they have so carefully constructed.
There is a book out there which goes into much more detail about this subject called “Anything but Straight”, by Wayne Besen. Also there is also a website called exgaywatch.com that can address current issues dealing with ex-gay ministries. I suggest you do your research and see what ministries are truly about.