澳彩开奖

Exodus International, one of the leading conversion therapy networks in the world, announced that it is shutting down after years of promoting a dangerous and discredited practice that claims to convert people from gay to straight.

The 澳彩开奖 today hailed the decision.

鈥淲e hope that this will be the first of many organizations to abandon this harmful practice,鈥� said Heidi Beirich, director of the 澳彩开奖鈥檚 Intelligence Project, which has worked to expose organizations involved in providing it. 鈥淭he fact is, conversion therapy is a fraud. The only things that need converting are the attitudes of those who continue to promote this junk science.鈥澛�

The 澳彩开奖 is also fighting conversion therapy in court. In 2012, it filed a聽lawsuit accusing a New Jersey organization 鈥� Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH) 鈥� of consumer fraud for offering conversion therapy services. It is the first time a conversion therapy practitioner has been sued for fraudulent business practices.

The decision by Exodus 鈥� the result of a unanimous vote by its board of directors 鈥� was announced yesterday and comes after Exodus International President Alan Chambers posted an on the group鈥檚 website, saying it is time for someone to 鈥渇inally own and acknowledge the hurt of others.鈥澛�

鈥淚 am sorry for the pain and hurt many of you have experienced,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淚 am sorry that some of you spent years working through the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn鈥檛 change. I am sorry we promoted sexual orientation change efforts and reparative theories about sexual orientation that stigmatized parents. I am sorry that there were times I didn鈥檛 stand up to people publicly 鈥榦n my side鈥� who called you names like sodomite鈥攐r worse.鈥澛�

Exodus鈥� board decided to shut down the group and create a separate ministry 鈥渁fter a year of dialogue and prayer about the organization鈥檚 place in a changing culture,鈥� the group said in a on its website. Local ministries affiliated with the group will continue to operate, but not under the Exodus name. Exodus International has described itself as 鈥渢he world鈥檚 largest ministry to individuals and families impacted by homosexuality.鈥澛�

鈥淲e鈥檙e not negating the ways God used Exodus to positively affect thousands of people, but a new generation of Christians is looking for change 鈥� and they want to be heard,鈥� board member Tony Moore said in a statement.聽

Chambers said in the same statement that Exodus has 鈥渂een imprisoned in a worldview that鈥檚 neither honoring toward our fellow human beings, nor biblical.鈥澛�

The underlying premise of conversion therapy 鈥� that a person can 鈥渃onvert鈥� to heterosexuality 鈥� has no basis in scientific fact. The practice, also known as 鈥渞eparative鈥� or 鈥渆x-gay鈥� therapy, has been discredited or highly criticized by all major American medical, psychiatric, psychological and professional counseling organizations. It is the longstanding consensus of the behavioral and social sciences that homosexuality is a normal and positive variation of human sexual orientation.

People who have undergone conversion therapy have reported increased anxiety, depression, and in some cases, thoughts of suicide. Conversion therapy also promotes the notion that gay men and lesbians choose their sexual orientation, an idea that encourages a climate of anti-LGBT bigotry.聽

The American Psychological Association has expressed concern that the positions espoused by some of the leading advocates of conversion therapy 鈥渃reate an environment in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish.鈥�

An analysis of FBI hate crime statistics by the 澳彩开奖 shows that the LGBT community is the minority most victimized by violent hate crimes.

Sean Sala, a conversion therapy survivor, told yesterday that the 澳彩开奖 case against JONAH may have helped motivate Chambers鈥� apology. He said the Exodus leader 鈥渨as sorry after groups like JONAH were sued. He was sorry after this election. He was sorry after the tide has turned in our nation.鈥�