Report criticizes 'cure' for gays

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By Julia Duin

The American Psychological Association has released a groundbreaking report disparaging religious efforts to "cure" homosexual orientation, an implied rebuke to religions that teach against homosexuality.

Called "Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation," the 138-page document is the organization's strongest criticism to date on religious groups that claim homosexual acts are sinful and that gay tendencies can be cured.

"There is a growing body of evidence that sexual stigma, manifested as prejudice or discrimination directed at non-heterosexual orientations and identities, is a major source of stress for sexual minorities," the report began.

The culprit?

"Moral and religious values in North America and Europe [that over centuries] provided the initial rationale for criminalization, discrimination and prejudice against same-sex behaviors," said the report, which was two years in the making and included references to 83 studies.

The report's findings were approved by a 125-4 vote this week by the APA's governing council in advance of its annual meeting this weekend in Toronto.

It touched on an issue that has long consumed public figures in the religious world, ranging from former Colorado megachurch pastor Ted Haggard, who in November 2006 lost his job after he admitted to soliciting sex from a male prostitute, to New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the world's first openly gay bishop, who tried changing his orientation in his 20s.

The report named members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, evangelical Christians and Orthodox Jews as examples of devout people battling same-sex attractions. Most of the people studied were well-educated white men who had tried psychotherapy, support groups and other religious methods in their efforts to change their sexuality.

The paper focused on such sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE), also known as reparative therapy.

"Some individuals perceived they had benefited from SOCE," the report said, and believed "that it helped them live in a manner consistent with their faith."