Content Warning

This post includes discussion of conversion therapy, spiritual abuse, religious trauma, coercive religious practices, and dissociation. Please take care while reading and pause or seek support if needed.

IDECT: Conversion Therapy and Healing Spaces

by James Masters

Today is the International Day to End Conversion Therapy (IDECT)—a day established to honor those harmed or lost to conversion practices and to raise awareness that these practices are not relics of the past, but present and evolving threats to LGBTQ+ wellbeing.

IDECT was created to commemorate Canada’s federal ban on conversion therapy, which went into effect in January 2022. While progress has been made in some regions, conversion practices continue globally. These are often rebranded, obscured by religious language, or defended as “pastoral care” or “free speech.”

At Folx with Faith, we recognize this as an important topic for groups and spiritual centers that affirm LGBTQ+ individuals. The landscape is shifting. Legal challenges, coordinated advocacy efforts, and well-funded movements are actively working to normalize conversion practices once again—particularly for youth.

This is not hypothetical. This is happening now.

Conversion Therapy Is Not Over—It Has Adapted

Decades of medical research and survivor testimony confirm what every major medical and mental health association has already stated: conversion therapy causes long-term emotional, physical, and spiritual harm.

Yet the practice persists.

Recent reporting shows:

• Thousands of conversion practitioners remain active across the United States

• LGBTQ+ youth threatened with or exposed to conversion practices have increased dramatically

• Religious exemptions continue to be used as cover for harm

• Legal challenges threaten existing protections for minors

New movements are explicitly working to move conversion practices out of church basements and into licensed medical offices, public policy, and cultural narratives. Framing harm as “healing” and rejection as “compassion.”

This is precisely why spiritual infrastructure for LGBTQ+ people matters.

Why This Is Personal—and Professional—for Me

I share this not only as an advocate, but as someone whose life was directly shaped by conversion practices.

In 1999, I was hit by a car. In the aftermath, instead of being met with care and support, my experience was interpreted through a rigid religious lens. I was told I had been “saved” and that my queerness was evidence of moral failure narrowly avoided.

I returned to my parents’ religion and entered a conversion therapy group.

Through that group, I was encouraged to dismantle my life in the name of faithfulness. At the time, I was studying art and design. Because I viewed creativity as an extension of my identity I was encouraged by leaders in this movement that it had to be surrendered.

I left school.
I gave up art.
And for nearly two decades, I barely touched a paintbrush.

In 2025, I began painting again after years of absence, and the simple act of returning to creativity has been profoundly therapeutic. Helping me reconnect with my body, process grief that words couldn’t reach, and reclaim a part of myself that was never meant to be surrendered.

What I understand now, but could not during those in between years, is that this loss created complex grief, the kind often associated with complex trauma. Giving up a core part of myself did not bring healing. It fractured something essential.

Over the next five years, I went through three programs, two of them were directly associated with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), a movement now widely recognized for its ties to authoritarian theology and Christian Nationalism. Within these institutions, I experienced mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual abuse.

I am still recovering.

And I am aware, deeply, that many people I knew from these programs did not survive or were unable to rebuild their lives. Some lost community, faith, or family. Others turned to substances to manage the devastation of rejection and isolation.

I was fortunate to find my way into a twelve-step program early on, which gave me tools to begin disentangling faith from fear and identity from shame.

Spiritual Abuse Leaves Lasting Imprints

It is also Spiritual Abuse Awareness Month, and that context matters.

One of the most damaging experiences I endured occurred during a so-called deliverance ritual common in certain charismatic spaces. Over several days, people surrounded me, struck my body with a Bible, screamed prayers, and attempted to cast out what they claimed was a demon responsible for my “broken” identity.

At one point, I realized with terrifying clarity: I was the thing they were trying to expel.

For years, I struggled to understand the dissociation, memory gaps, and out-of-body experiences that followed. Only recently, working with a trauma-informed therapist, did I gain language for what happened.

My body protected me.

Dissociation was was survival. When the experience became too overwhelming, my nervous system did what it needed to do to keep me alive. This understanding has been profoundly healing.

Why Folx with Faith Focuses on “Landing Pads”

My work with Folx with Faith, and previously with West Shore Pride, is sacred to me because I know firsthand what happens when people lose spiritual community without having somewhere safe to land.

Even affirming churches can be deeply retraumatizing for individuals with religious trauma. Welcome statements alone are not enough. What is needed is intentional, trauma-aware spiritual infrastructure.

It took me 15 years after my conversion therapy experiences to step into spiritual community again. That wasn’t because I lacked faith. My nervous system needed to feel safe again.

Folx with Faith exists to help create that safety.

Folx with Faith exists because too many queer people have been told they must choose between their spirituality and their survival. We know that for many, traditional religious spaces, even affirming ones, can still carry deep harm, retraumatization, or exclusion.

Rather than trying to “fix” faith or define one spiritual path, Folx with Faith focuses on connection. We support queer-led spiritual groups that create space for honest conversation, shared meaning-making, and belonging. Without pressure, correction, or expectation. These groups are not about arriving at the same beliefs, but about having a place to land while people explore their own.

Whether someone is reconnecting with spirituality after harm, seeking companionship on a spiritual path, or simply looking for others who understand their journey, Folx with Faith exists to walk alongside—not ahead of, not above.

We also do our best to help educate centers and communities on how to be more compitent when they engage with the queer community.

Shaping the Narrative—Together

A recent Substack reflection by Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez powerfully outlines how coordinated efforts are underway to mainstream conversion practices once again—particularly through legal and cultural channels. We encourage you to read and share it.

IDECT Substack Post

One point bears repeating: the narrative is up for grabs.

That means the responsibility is, too.

History has already shown us what conversion therapy does. The question now is whether we will remember, and resist, before more lives are lost.

If you are considering starting a group, supporting queer spiritual spaces, or need a place to land yourself, Folx with Faith is here. We are committed to building communities rooted in dignity, safety, and truth.

For more information about Folx with Faith, or to connect with us, please reach out.

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You are not broken.
You never were.
And you do not have to do this alone.

Because of that, spiritually-minded LGBTQ+ folks often seek connection outside traditional structures. We want spirituality that breathes, evolves, affirms, and heals—not one that polices identity or expression.

But one thing institutions do get right is the importance of community. We thrive in connection. We heal in connection. We grow in connection.

How You Can Support Our Mission?

You can help us fulfill our mission by donating to Folx with Faith or starting a local group. It is our mission to create safe spaces to explore and experience spiritual wholeness. Folx with Faith supports the queer community, fostering a celebration of our authentic beings and empowering us to make a difference in the world. If you would like to contribute to this mission or would like to start a local chapter, please let us know. You can contact us or use the links below.

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