Religion and LGBT people

[John V]

Huh. I was willing to let all that go, until you said this. Now you've asked for it: since you're so into evidence, let's take a closer look at the evidence you presented, shall we?

That's what we've been doing all along, as I present most of the evidence. You guys did present one piece that I quickly rebutted.

Your study's sample group was 98 people, or as we in the scientific community like to say, "criminally small." All of those 98 people were members of Exodus International, indicating some psychological desire to change on their part, possibly enough to be invested enough to trick themselves. The length of time each member of the sample group had been involved in the program varied quite a bit (one to three years) meaning that the individual experiences make it quite hard to draw any valid conclusions.

Are you reading my link? The first line of the abstract notes that it spanned 6-7 years.

Of this group, only 11 people reported any change in their attractions,

Can you quote the study on that? What I see is:

At T1, 11 participants reported attraction ratings of 0, 1 or 2 (variations on heterosexual response), but at T6, that number grew to 25. At T1, 43 participants reported attraction ratings of 4, 5, or 6; however, at T6, that number declined to 31. These together indicate some shift in the population away from homosexual experience and toward heterosexual experience. Similarly, at T1, 7 participants reported fantasy ratings of 0, 1 or 2; at T6, that number grew to 21; at T1, 46 participants reported fantasy ratings of 4, 5 or 6; at T6, that number declined to 35.

So, the evidence is hardly stacked against us, John. You simply didn't read your own citation's findings

You seem to be projecting on this point.

Also, you don't mention the longitudinal study of women which I posted, or twins studies, which I didn't actually post as I think the findings are well-known, but can if you like.

---

Interesting..
So people are born with a sexual predisposition based on genetics,

Actually I'd say people are born with a number of sexual predispositions. We've only been discussing gender attraction. I'd say there are also scales of monagamy/promiscuity, and of sex drive. Maybe more.

then environment affects it on a sliding scale continuum?

Then all these combine with culture and personal experience.

How would this theory account for those whose sexual orientation is homosexual or heterosexual from the beginning and doesn't change, though? I think to my gay friend, and he's absolutely repulsed by womens' anatomy, and he's been this way since elementary school.

That people may move along the continuum does not indicate that every individual necessarily moves along the continuum. If your predispositions match your culture and your initial experiences are fulfilling, you probably won't move much. I don't know your friend and can't comment on his specific situation.