Manifested Glory Ministries, a non-denominational church in Connecticut, recently put a video on YouTube of church members giving a 16 year old boy an exorcism to expel the “homosexual demon” inside of him.

WTF?!

In the 20 minute video, since taken down from YouTube, members scream things such as…

 “Rip it from his throat!” a woman yells. “Come on, you homosexual demon! You  homosexual spirit, we call you out right now! Loose your grip, Lucifer!”

The church insists that their actions, which are being widely denounced by many gay rights groups and activists, are not prejudice toward homosexuals and were not meant to harm the teenager.
 

 “We believe a man should be with a woman and a woman should be with a man,”  the Rev. Patricia McKinney told The Associated Press. “We have nothing against  homosexuals. I just don’t agree with their lifestyle.”

Can you really say that you have nothing against homosexuals, and then agree to perform an exorcism on them in order to rid them of their homosexuality? And doesn’t an exorcism take the idea of “not agreeing” quite a bit too far?

McKinney went on to say that what they did wasn’t really an exorcism, but a “casting out of spirits.” Right, because the “the driving out of evil spirits from persons or places by conjuration” is totally unrelated to the “casting out of spirits.” Please.

They also insist that the boy came to them, instead of the other way around. McKinney said…

 “He was dressing like a woman and everything. And he didn’t want to be like  that,”

Here’s some video from a news report on the story, featuring some footage from the exorcism video:

Shannon Bell, a reporter with RightPundits.com, tried to make the case that the gay rights groups opposing the church’s actions are infringing upon the church’s religious freedom.

 Homosexuals have the right to march in the streets in Gay Pride parades, do they  not? Then why doesn’t Manifested Glory Ministries have the right to perform gay  exorcisms? Why doesn’t the 16 year old have the right to not be gay if he wants?

Marching in a gay pride parade doesn’t hurt anyone. In fact, it does the opposite. It shows members of the LGBTQ community that they are fine just the way they are. These events are meant to be an opportunity for participants to show their pride in themselves, and to show that they don’t have to change who they are in order to be accepted.

Having a gay exorcism performed on you says that who you are is dangerous. It says that extreme measures have to be taken to change you. It says that your thoughts, feelings, and actions are wrong. Believing that the “homosexual demons” need to be ripped out of you does the opposite of making you feel pride in who you are. Being gay is not dangerous, wrong, or something that needs to be changed about you.

Even if this young boy did approach church members about having an exorcism perform on him, the Manifested Glory Ministry, by agreeing to do this exorcism, encouraged not positive change, but rather reinforced the boy’s poor image of himself.  Instead of accepting him for who he was, with what they believed to be faults and all, they went along with something that encouraged his opinion that there was something wrong with him.

What Shannon Bell also seems to ignorantly not understand is that people do not choose to be gay. It’s not something that you can change. You can’t decide to be gay and you can’t decide to not be gay. It doesn’t work like that. An exorcism won’t change that. Therapy won’t change that. Prayer won’t change that. Nothing will change that.

Here’s some information from TruthWinsOut.org about the affects of trying to make a gay person straight:
 

 The American Psychiatric Association in its position statement on Psychiatric  Treatment and Sexual Orientation states: The potential risks of “reparative  therapy” are great, including depression, anxiety and self destructive behavior,  since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may  reinforce self hatred already experienced by the patient. Many patients who have  undergone “reparative therapy” relate that they were inaccurately told that  homosexuals are lonely, unhappy individuals who never achieve acceptance or  satisfaction. The possibility that the person might achieve happiness and satisfying  interpersonal relationships as a gay man or lesbian is not presented, nor are  alternative approaches to dealing with the effects of societal stigmatization  discussed.

I don’t know whether the church had the boy’s parent’s permission to perform the exorcism, or if that is legally required with minors. I don’t know the specifics on how the exorcism was planned or how strongly the church encouraged it, but I have no doubt that what they did was wrong. Even if it was legal, it was still wrong. I feel horrible for that boy. Whether he was the one who initiated the idea or not, he was submitted to the terrifying beliefs that who he was wasn’t good enough. For whatever reason, he let them do this to him. For whatever reason, he didn’t feel strong enough in who he was to refuse this or to stop them.

I also don’t believe that the church’s religious freedom is being infringed upon by the coverage and outrage about this story. They have to take responsibility for their actions. And if they didn’t want people knowing about this, why did they post it on YouTube?! They were obviously trying to spread their message that homosexuality is something that requires an exorcism. Whether they initiated it or not, they still went along with it and basically shared it with the world. It’s my opinion that they were probably trying to show other homosexual people that even though an exorcism may be extreme, it is an acceptable way and option of getting rid of your gayness, therefore saying that being gay is bad and something that should be gotten rid of. 

Is there a way to exorcise the bigotry out of the Manifested Glory Ministries? 

~Samantha