The fraught topic of conversion therapy has been nauseating queer people (and allies) for decades now. You know the drill: Some overzealous religious group gets together and tries to un-gay people because they believe homosexuality is an illness we can “heal” from, or some kind of spiritual choice. Many states are taking the initiative to establish bans on conversation therapy, but the practice is alive and well.
A new Netflix documentary Pray Away, explores one particularly disturbing instance of conversation therapy, following five former evangelicals who spearheaded Exodus International, an “ex-gay” organization founded in the 1970s. The organization, which was created by former Melodyland Christian Center member Michael Bussee, hired religious leaders and even therapists to help convince young queer Christians that they were leading sinful lives, and that they could leave it at any time to “follow Jesus again” — a.k.a. shove themselves back into the closet. Then, many of those converts went out and shamed other queers into giving up their “lifestyles.” It was like a Russian nesting doll of trauma.
