Exodus International plans a May 10 event at CMA Church in Morgantown to teach religious leaders how to minister to people who don't want to be attracted to members of the same sex. The Family Policy Council of West Virginia invited Exodus to hold the seminar, the first of its kind that the Orlando-based group has held in the state.

Fairness West Virginia, a statewide group that advocates for gays and lesbians, calls Exodus' teachings "junk science" and plans to counter the organization's visit with an event called "Fairness in Faith: Fighting the Ex-Gay Myth and Propaganda Machine" at West Virginia University.

Fairness will host Wayne Besen, founder of the national think tank Truth Wins Out, which fights anti-gay religious extremism. Besen has extensively researched so-called "ex-gay" groups such as Exodus.

As part of the Fairness event, the First Presbyterian Church of Morgantown will host a session called "Let My People Go: A Liberating Faith for People of All Sexual Orientations."

The Exodus session is designed for pastors and other church leaders, educators, seminary students and counselors.

"During this day-long seminar, you will learn how to effectively address the hot topic of homosexual behavior within our culture and minister to students, friends, family and churchgoers struggling with unwanted same-sex attractions," says an announcement on the Family Policy Council of West Virginia's website.

The group's planned topics include "Understanding Male Homosexuality," Ministering to the Struggling Student," and "Homosexuality In A Post-Christian Culture."

Family Policy Council of West Virginia President Jeremy Dys said the event is meant to teach leaders how "they can begin to learn to minister to those issues in a loving and gracious way.

"They are here to walk beside people who want to leave the homosexual lifestyle," Dys said.

In 2007, a task force of the American Psychological Association reviewed scientific literature on efforts to change sexual orientation. The task force concluded that "efforts to change sexual orientation are unlikely to be successful and involve some risk of harm," the APA states on its website.

Exodus teaches that "reorientation of same sex attraction is possible."

"This is a process, which begins with motivation to, and self-determination to change based upon a personal relationship with Jesus Christ," it says on its website.

The organization describes itself as a ministry. It also refers people to counselors who conduct "reparative therapy," which supporters say can help people get rid of their attraction to members of the same sex.

Exodus does not believe that heterosexuality is the opposite of homosexuality, said Jeff Buchanan, senior director of church equipping and student ministries for Exodus. Instead, it teaches that the opposite of homosexuality is "holiness."

"We are here to help people live a life that is congruent with their beliefs," he said.

Besen, of Truth Wins Out, said, "These groups are kind of a PR gimmick for the religious right.

"It's consumer fraud because it doesn't help anyone," he said, "and it's also a political ruse."

If voters believe that sexual orientation can be changed, he said, they are more likely to support anti-gay politicians.

Fairness West Virginia President Stephen Skinner called Exodus' work irresponsible "quackery."

"What they are doing is promoting untruths and lies, and they're actually creating junk science to justify homophobia," Skinner said. "They want gays and lesbians not to have the same rights as everybody else, and they create this whole other reality to justify what they're doing."

Besen said he has gone undercover to Exodus events and alleges that people are encouraged to link all of their troubles to the fact that they are gay.

"Exodus blames every problem on a person's sexual orientation," he said. "If somebody's depressed, if somebody's hearing voices or having visions, if somebody's not having success in life."

Many of them need therapy, Besen said, but "don't get the professional counseling that they need because Exodus provides sub-par, faux counselors."

He worries that gay people who turn to Exodus will only get more hurt, he said.

"When people internalize this message that something's wrong with them, that they're not whole," he said, "it's very devastating, psychologically."

Reach Alison Knezevich at alis...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1240.