July 18, 2021 | Arts / Entertainment

New Netflix doc explores rise and fall of Exodus

Even though in 1973 the American Psychiatric Association declared that homosexuality was not a mental disorder, religious groups continued to try and make gay people straight. And in 1976, one of the leading groups claiming it could change a person's sexuality, Exodus International, was created.

It started with five men struggling with being gay in their Evangelical church whoy started a Bible study group to help each other leave the “homosexual lifestyle.” They soon received over 25,000 letters from people asking for help and formalized as Exodus, the largest conversion therapy organization in the world.

Ryan Murphy and Jason Blum have produced a new documentary called Pray Away, which chronicles the history of Exodus from its beginning in 1976 to its demise in 2013. 

"Conversion therapy is a practice, but it is also a movement," explained director Kristine Stolakis. "There is so much that binds this belief system together beyond the practice the pseudo-counseling many of us picture when we think of conversion therapy. To be clear, this pseudo-counseling absolutely exists -- both by licensed counselors and un-licensed counselors, the latter of which are generally religious leaders teaching outdated and disproved psychological ideas of why someone is LGBTQ.

"But beyond that counseling experience, the ex-gay world is an immersive experience where it is easy to constantly surround yourself with messages that change is possible. There are conferences, peer-to-peer meet-ups, books, films, blogs, hashtags, and religious ministries filled with people who say in one way or another that change is possible."

Yet the leaders continued to struggle with their sexuality. After years of being celebrated by the religious right, many of Exodus' most outspoken leaders have come out as LGBTQ, disavowing the very movement they helped create.

The documentary premieres on August 3rd on Netflix.