Christian Extremism Needs a #MeToo Moment in America
Spencer Macnaughton | Uncloseted Media Weekly Newsletter
This past weekend, my boyfriend wrote an essay for us about how he was subjected to corporal punishment, familial rejection and conversion therapy because of his sexual orientation.
As someone who grew up in a not-very-religious Toronto household, the idea of being a sinner or disordered or ill because you are LGBTQ was always a foreign concept.
But after I moved to the U.S. and started covering anti-LGBTQ movements, I realized that much of the most virulent hate and animus toward queer people comes from extreme Christian forces that are weaponizing religion and in turn inflicting countless Americans with decades of trauma and other mental health issues.
While many major religions can be rife with homo/transphobia, Christianity is the most influential bad actor in the States because it permeates all sectors of American life: Christian legal groups defending anti-LGBTQ legislation; Christian therapists trying to re-legalize conversion therapy in their practices; Christian colleges forcing honor codes onto students that could lead them to be expelled for engaging in any form of queer relationship; and Trump being closely aligned with Project 2025, a blueprint for Christian nationalism in government.
I’ve always sensed Christian extremism was fueling the mental health epidemic among LGBTQ kids. But after the response to Sean’s story, that went from a feeling to a certainty. Sean’s DMs were flooded with gratitude messages from other survivors of Christian extremism and there were thousands of likes and dozens of comments on our Instagram post from people who shared his pain.
There were messages from those still struggling:
Susiforshey: What a beautiful testimony. I love the last phrase: I finally feel calm and free. I hope for that for myself one day. ❤️
Greg.yan: Thank you so much for sharing, this is exactly what I needed to see today as I am about to write a letter to my parents whom I have not spoken to in over 2 years
And others from folks who have finally found peace:
Johnhuls83gogwood: 🙌👏❤️it’s a tough road. I’m 67 and the road was worth every tear, every single argument, every family member shunning and shaming me! ❤️I am free and visible and loved
Theliberatedporch: As someone who has called rural New York and Virginia home, thank you for sharing your story. While these experiences can be shared by so many, it can often feel like you’re the only one or the few when these stories are quieted. Your life’s story shows to others that life gets so much better when uncloseted even though it can be difficult, especially in the beginning.
We need a reckoning to stop the weaponization of a religion that is supposed to teach us how to love. For decades, we have heard one-off stories from survivors and watched movies about conversion therapy. But so many survivors of Christian extremism keep their trauma between their ears.
What I really think we need is a movement akin to what #MeToo did in 2017 for the countless survivors of sexual violence. A survivor-centered, grassroots campaign where people band together in solidarity and go public with their trauma.
We should take from the #MeToo playbook: when a critical mass comes together and uses social media to amplify their stories of survival, change can come.
As we saw with #MeToo, this amplification can hold perpetrators to account and start a game-changing conversation about how time should be up for those who are using so-called religious freedom laws to commit physical, verbal and emotional abuse under the guise of Christian values.
I have no clue how a movement like this starts. But for me, Sean’s essay cracked the door open.
Hope Pisoni appeared on yesterday’s episode of the This News Is So Gay Podcast - check it out here!
Donald Trump Shares AI-Generated Video of Himself Dropping Feces on No Kings Protestors (The Wrap)
The “King Trump” Truth Social clip also features progressive commentator Harry Sisson.
Disgraced former congressman George Santos released from prison in New Jersey (The Guardian)
Trump commuted Santos’s seven-year sentence for fraud and identity theft after he had served less than three months.
Drug bust mistaken for ICE raid in West Hollywood’s Rainbow District (NBC Los Angeles)
LASD said it did not work with federal agents during Friday’s operation.
Ohio pastor who protested LGBTQ book at school fair accused of child rape, sexual battery (The Cincinnati Enquirer)
Silas Shelton, 52, who lives in Warren County and serves as a pastor at Blanchester Community Ministries in Clinton County, was arrested on Oct. 15. He faces charges including child rape and sexual battery after a detective said he abused a minor over a period of about six years.
Pentagon Pete Goon Melts Down at Netflix After Releasing Gay Marine Show ‘Boots’ (The Daily Beast)
The Department of Defense blasted the streaming service as “garbage.”
Over the next week, be on the lookout for new Uncloseted reporting:
🆕As the consequential New York City mayoral election draws closer, Nico DiAlessandro digs into Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s track records on LGBTQ issues.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to email me with questions, complaints and story ideas!
Spencer Macnaughton, Editor-In-Chief — spencer@unclosetedmedia.com
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