Gay exorcisms,
similar to
demonic exorcisms, are where an
exorcist
In some religions, an exorcist (from the Greek „ἐξορκιστής“) is a person who is believed to be able to cast out the devil or performs the ridding of demons or other supernatural beings who are alleged to have possessed a person, ...
evicts "homosexual
demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
s"
or other spiritual entities from an
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
individual. These exorcisms are intended to "remove"
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
from an individual. Reports of these exorcisms still occur in modern times, but are usually kept secret within the church.
Cases
Rev. Dr. Roland Stringfellow, a minister in California, said he had been subjected to anti-gay exorcism himself in the 1990s, which “caused nothing but shame and embarrassment”.
In 2009 a case in
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
was recorded on video. A 16-year-old boy was beaten in a church for 20 minutes by a group of church leaders acting as exorcists shouting "sacraments" such as, "Pray out the gay!", and "Foul Queer, be not here!" . The video was later released on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
.
See also
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Christianity and homosexuality
Throughout the majority of Christian history, most Christian theologians and denominations have considered homosexual behavior as immoral or sinful. Today, within Christianity, there are a variety of views on sexual orientation and homosexual ...
*
Conversion therapy
Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...
*
Exorcism
Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...
*
Ex-gay
The ex-gay movement consists of people and organizations that encourage people to refrain from entering or pursuing same-sex relationships, to eliminate homosexual desires and to develop heterosexual desires, or to enter into a heterosexual relat ...
References
{{reflist, 2
Exorcism in Christianity
LGBT and Christianity
Sexual orientation change efforts