Has
Science Proved Homosexuality Can Not Be
Changed?
Exodus Global Alliance
June 2007
You
often hear the claim that science has proved
that homosexuality cannot be changed. And
so it seems appropriate to review the claims
and findings of science regarding this question.
But
before we dig in to what science has to
say, we should note that some use this claim
to undermine Christianity in 3 different
ways:
1.
It is used to challenge the truthfulness
of Scripture or our interpretations of
it. If homosexual orientation can not
be changed then the reference in 1 Cor
6:9-11 in the Bible is either wrong in
claiming some people used to be homosexuals
or that it means something different than
a change in orientation.
2.
Proof that homosexuals cannot change may
paint the church’s position as heartless.
If homosexuals cannot change then they
are consigned to permanent chastity, not
because they choose to be single but because
that is their only option.
3.
The church is portrayed as claiming all
homosexuals can change if they really
wanted to. Then science findings are used
to show change is not possible. This weakens
the church’s position or makes it appear
untenable.
One
other point needs to be made before considering
what science has found. The discussion about
change often gets bogged down in logically
clean but unworkable categories. To claim
that homosexual orientation is immutable
is to make a universal claim: there has
never been nor will there ever be even one
person who changes their homosexual orientation.
To claim that every homosexual can change
such that they never experience same-sex
attractions again is also a universal claim.
Both of these are regularly discredited
because it is easy to find people who have
changed and find people who failed to change.
There are two keys to ensuring we don’t
get bogged down in this. First, is to recognize
a third alternative – some homosexuals can
change. And second, we need to define what
does change mean.
The
definition of change is related to the definition
of homosexuality. Neither has a clear definition.
Kinsey used a scale and claimed that anyone
from 2-6 on the scale is a homosexual. Kinsey
counted the man who was raped in prison
and the teen who experienced an erection
in the boys change room as homosexuals.
But you can equally claim that anyone on
the scale from 1-5 is a heterosexual; including
any man who has experienced sexual attraction
to a woman, even if it is only 1 time, as
a heterosexual.
What
has Science Discovered?
What
has science shown regarding whether change
is possible? Most of the published empirical
studies were done in the 1950’s, 60’s and
70’s. Today's political climate provides
little encouragement to researchers who
study change in sexual orientation. Much
of this early research was done using poor
methods and has left science without much
to conclude. They cannot be cited as incontrovertible
evidence that change is possible or impossible.
There does appear to be evidence that some
level of change can be expected by a percentage
of people who pursue treatment. The average
positive outcome across the studies from
the 50's - 70's is about 33%. While this
is not a stunningly high rate, it is just
as successful as the success rates for other
psychological disorders such a personality
disorders or additions. The lack of sophisticated
methods in tracking whether or not change
happens does not disprove the success of
treatments. It simply means we haven’t figured
out how to evaluate changes in homosexuality.
More
recently there have been noteworthy studies.
One was done by the National Association
for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality
(NARTH). NARTH studied people who had experienced
some degree of change. The a report titled
"A Survey of Sexual-Orientation Change"
they reported on a large number of homosexuals,
885 people, who had changed or were seeking
to change participated in the study. After
the change effort, they reported the following:
- 15%
reported being exclusively heterosexual
- 18%
reported being almost exclusively heterosexual
- 20%
reported being more heterosexual than
homosexual
- 11%
equally heterosexual and homosexual
- 23%
more homosexual than heterosexual
- 8%
almost exclusively homosexual
- 5%
exclusively homosexual
Clearly,
many of the people who had sought change
found that change was possible.
The
second was done by Dr. Robert Spizter. Dr.
Spitzer’s personal involvement in this particular
study is historically significant: He was
the leading figure in the 1973 APA decision
that removed homosexuality from the official
diagnostic manual of mental disorders.Today,
he is Chief of Biometrics Research and Professor
of Psychiatry at Columbia University in
New York City. In 2001, Spitzer presented
his study of 200 men & women who have
experienced a significant shift from homosexual
to heterosexual attraction, and have sustained
this shift for at least five years. Spitzer's
goal in carrying out this research was to
"study the self-reported experiences of
individuals who claim to have achieved a
change from homosexual to heterosexual attraction
that has lasted at least five years." Spitzer’s
conclusions include the following:
"Contrary
to conventional wisdom, some highly motivated
individuals, using a variety of change
efforts, can make substantial change in
multiple indicators of sexual orientation.”
“Like
most psychiatrists, I thought that homosexual
behaviour could only be resisted,
and that no one could really change their
sexual orientation. I now believe that
to be false.Some people can and do change.”
Many
of the subjects had sought change because
of disillusionment with a promiscuous lifestyle
and unstable, stormy relationships. Many
reported a conflict with their religious
values, and many had desired to be (or to
stay) heterosexually married. By the time
of the study interview, three-quarters of
the men and half of the women had become
married.
One
surprising discovery was that 67% of the
men who had rarelyor neverfelt any opposite-sex attraction
before the change effort, now report significant
heterosexual attraction. Even those whose
orientation did not change--but who gave
up homosexual behaviour—experienced a significant
improvement in emotional health.
If
we consider Dr. Moberly’s concepts of the
causes of homosexuality then we can see
why change is possible. Since a person's
same-sex love need is part of God's created
order, change from homosexuality is not
the elimination of this need. Instead change
involves a process of filling the love need
and maintaining its healthy state. This
process involves four distinct stages: a)
change in behaviour, b) increased self-esteem,
c) deepening same-sex relationships and
d) the discovery of the heterosexual or
complementary-sex relationship.
Conclusion
Science
does not have a strong conclusion on whether
change is possible. It is possible to find
people who have changed and people who say
they have tried to change and failed.
Does
science say anything relevant to the moral
question about homosexuality? The conviction
that homosexual practice is immoral comes
from God’s call to demonstrate obedience
to His revealed will. Historically the church
as taught that we are all to strive for
obedience to a Biblical sexual ethic of
chastity in heterosexual marriage or celibacy
outside of marriage. We are to strive for
this even when we find it hard to follow.
So how does the possibility of change fit
in to this?
What
if science were to prove that change really
is not possible? Does that change God’s
standard. It may be that the church cannot
guarantee healing to homosexuals any more
than it can guarantee marriage to single
people. There are many more single heterosexuals
“doomed” to sexual abstinence by the church’s
“narrow” sexual morality than there are
homosexual persons similarly constrained.
The
core issue is that the church’s stance on
homosexual behaviour requires only that
individuals be able to refrain from homosexual
action and find fulfillment in God’s own
provision in meeting their personal needs
and not that they necessarily be able to
become heterosexuals. As some would say,
“The opposite of homosexuality is not heterosexuality.
It is holiness.” Certainly, behaviour change
is within the realm of that which can be
changed, as evidenced by our understanding
of autonomy and free will, as well as scientific
findings that clearly support change of
behaviour methods.
For
more information in this area, we recommend
the book Homosexuality,
The Use of Scientific Research in the Church's
Moral Debate, by Stanton Jones &
Mark Yarhouse, IVPress.
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