Study: Gays Are Free to Leave

For years, there has been an ongoing debate about whether homosexuality is genetic or a choice, and whether a gay person can (or even should) ever leave that lifestyle.

Finally, the first-ever longitudinal study on leaving homosexuality was released this week, and the verdict seems to be that change is possible.

The study's findings were released in a new book, Ex-Gays? A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation, by Stanton L. Jones and Mark A. Yarhouse. In the authors' words:

"The study is the first on the subject of sexual orientation change to be done in accordance with rigorous scientific and ethical standards, and it is the first to produce reliable hard data on whether it is possible to change sexual orientation through the interventions delivered by religious ministry organizations."

Jones is a professor of psychology at Wheaton College, and Yarhouse at Regents University. The study looked at 98 participants of a program through Exodus International, a Christian organization working with those who have left the gay lifestyle.

The final results of the study show that, by the study's conclusion, 38% of the participants had successfully left the homosexual lifestyle (either changed to a heterosexual lifestyle or embraced chastity despite their homosexual inclinations). Another 29 percent demonstrated only partial success in departing from the homosexual way of life but vowed to keep up their efforts. Of the remaining numbers, only 8 percent reverted to an active homosexual life.

For years, the American Psychological Association has refused to recognize claims of religious groups that a person can leave his or her homosexuality without psychological harm. The official position of the APA is that homosexuality is neither a choice nor a changeable characteristic, and the organization has even entertained the idea of excluding from membership those who engage in counseling homosexuals in attempts to leave the lifestyle. It is unsure whether this study will have any impact in the debate. Time will tell.

Former APA President and current President of the Cummings Foundation for Behavioral Health, Nicholas Cummings said, "This study has broken new ground in its adherence to objectivity and a scientific precision that can be replicated and expanded, and it opens new horizons for investigation."