The main difference between the ex-gay movement in the UK and the US is that, well, that there isn’t really much of an ex-gay movement as such in the UK. In the US, the movement tends to be focused and visible, largely thanks to Exodus. In Britain, Exodus doesn’t have much going on.
The most prominent ex-gay ministry in Britain is the True Freedom Trust, and its leader, Martin Hallett, broke off from Exodus International a few years ago. He is now backing off from claims of actual conversion to heterosexuality, and gave up the Exodus affiliation for precisely that reason. He was increasingly wary of the rhetoric from North America, believing it tended to “set up people for disillusionment”. Though he still pays lip service to the idea of some people being able to grow out of homosexual orientation, in our conversations he has been surprisingly – refreshingly – candid about his own sexuality.
Until 2000, the other main ex-gay organisation in the UK was Courage, which became a gay-affirming ministry when leader Jeremy Marks realized that twenty years of trying to make gays straight was simply not working.
London-based Living Waters is related to Andy Comiskey’s Desert Stream, but is difficult to find out about, since its website never seems to be live.
We don’t have ex-gay billboards here; we don’t see much of them on TV; and there’s no explicitly ex-gay residential centres as there are in the US.
But that’s not to say that there isn’t something going on. It’s just not a unified, visible movement. As Mike Airhart said back in October (quoting Peterson Toscano, in turn quoting the Contemplative Activist), it just goes on underground. In which case, it’s potentially more dangerous. At least in America it’s all out there in the public square, where here ex-gay ministry is the fundamentalist equivalent of a backstreet abortion. (I realize I’m oversimplifying the situation on both sides of the Atlantic here, but hopefully you get the point.)
Over the next few months I’ll be investigating ex-gay ministries in the UK, and sharing with you a little of what I find. I have coffee coming up with a charismatic leader in Liverpool whose ex-gay ministry stems from the work of New-Yorkers Ron and Joanne Highley, whose ministry promises “complete freedom from homosexuality, from both the desires and the activity.” They believe in nothing less than 100% reversal of homosexual orientation. “They think Exodus is too liberal,” someone told me only half-jokingly.
If any British readers have leads or suggestions for my research, feel free to email me.
Interesting analysis, Dave… thanks!
While some ex-gays ministries and advocacy groups are more public, much of that is about their anti-gay political work; often, the issues that do become public about workings of ex-gay groups is due research and tracking by gay-affirming folks.
I find it to be a very dynamic process. As an example, designers of a program like Love In Action’s Refuge would prefer that its existence be obscured from the view of the public and state health care regulators, but it does get noticed because of one teen’s blog. Gay-affirming group QAC pushes back by raising awareness. Love in Action limits access to information. The state investigates….
It adds up to a very interactive process, lots of pushing and pulling.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to hearing more from you.
Dave, good to see you contributing here.
I’m interested to hear your take from your research. I’ll reflect here on a few of my observations, having had some experience of a few of the groups you mention.
You are right that the Ex-gay ministry is relatively invisible in the UK, partly because the groups appear less extreme than those in the US, partly because they don’t shout about themselves too much, and partly because they are small and relatively meagrely funded. I also agree wholeheartedly with your take on the ‘backstreet’ nature of the groups – many of the more conservative churches are pretty uncomfortable discussing homosexuality in any personal way, even though they may be able to talk about the theology and implications for church schism at length.
The break of affiliation of True Freedom Trust (TfT) from the US Exodus International was not trumpeted, and TfT still has some links with European ‘Exodus’ groups, though its change in emphasis to a ministry supporting celibacy is clearer now, and I suspect it may continue to evolve.
Martin is candid and thoughtful and indeed shys away from making claims about conversions to heterosexuality, but the support for this ministry comes from the conservative evangelical churches in the UK, and some of them are still under the misconception that TfT ‘cures’ gays.
Nevertheless, on the ground, the notes used by some of TfT’s local groups still quote from reparative therapy proponents such as Moberley, Comiskey, Worthen and van den Aardweg (who speaks of ‘healing homosexuality’). Even if ‘change’ is not promoted (and many of TfT’s attendees privately consider it unlikely), it is still held out by some group leaders as a possibility for those seeking it.
TfT remains one of the few supportive agencies for those who would be virtually unable to discuss their sexuality within their conservative churches due to the taboo nature of the subject or homophobic attitude of some congregants.
Living Waters publicises itself more through newsletters and fliers sent to supporters, than through its website. It is also a broader ministry dealing with issues other than homosexuality. It is vague in making written claims about change, or specifying what ‘healing’ actually refers to.
The current rancour in the Anglican church has at least brought the subject ‘out of the closet’, and is allowing a wider range of viewpoints to be voiced in UK churches.