Ruth Institute founder Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse argues that the LGBT slogan “born this way” is not true, according to a LifeSiteNews write-up of a recently released video featuring her claims.
What Morse says the science shows
Morse points to what the article calls the largest-ever genetic study, published in 2017, and says researchers did not find a “gay gene.” “There is no ‘gay gene,’” she states in the video, per LifeSiteNews. She further reports that the study’s lead author told the New York Times it “is basically impossible to predict a person’s sexual activity or orientation just from genetics.”
She also cites identical twin studies, saying the concordance rate for homosexuality is about 30 percent, even though identical twins share almost all their DNA.
‘Fluidity’ and claimed behavior changes
The video includes a clip of researcher Dr. Lisa Diamond asserting that “sexual attraction shows a fair amount of fluidity,” according to the article. Morse also claims there are more people who can be described as ex-gay than who identify as gay in both the United States and the United Kingdom. “People changing their behavior and self-understanding provides another kind of evidence that ‘born gay’ can’t be the whole story,” she says.
Why the slogan persists, per Morse
As summarized by LifeSiteNews, Morse offers two reasons she believes the “born that way” idea remains popular: a legal rationale—treating homosexuality as innate may bolster anti-discrimination claims—and personal comfort, by avoiding difficult questions about development or trauma.
About the Ruth Institute—and a disputed label
The Ruth Institute describes itself as “a global interfaith coalition equipping Christians to defend the family and build a civilization of love.” It says it provides “scientifically sound evidence, carefully reasoned arguments, and compelling personal testimonies” in support of traditional Christian sexual ethics. The LifeSiteNews piece notes the Institute is “much reviled by the discredited Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).”
