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Christian Mainline Protestant Pastors’ Beliefs About the Practice of Conversion Therapy: Reflections for Family Therapists
Author(s) -
McGeorge Christi R.,
Coburn Katelyn O.,
Walsdorf Ashley A.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of marital and family therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.868
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1752-0606
pISSN - 0194-472X
DOI - 10.1111/jmft.12447
Subject(s) - protestantism , family therapy , psychotherapist , psychology , religious studies , philosophy
Efforts to change the sexual orientation of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals to heterosexual are referred to as conversion therapy. Given the religious groundings that support the practice of conversion therapy, we sought to explore the beliefs of Christian religious leaders about this practice and what they want family therapists to know about the practice of conversion therapy. Twenty‐one pastors from diverse Mainline Christian Protestant traditions were interviewed. Queer theory‐informed thematic analysis revealed four themes that reflect the participants’ perspectives on conversion therapy: (a) Conversion Therapy Is an Abomination, (b) Conversion Therapy Is Similar to Other Abusive Practices, (c) Conversion Therapy Represents A Misuse of Religion, and (d) Ethical Concerns About Therapists Who Practice Conversion Therapy. Implications of this study include a need for self‐of‐the‐therapist work to address religious biases and heteronormative assumptions in order to examine beliefs that support practicing conversion therapy.