ABSTRACT
Orthodox Jewish clergy recommend “conversion therapy” for men with homosexual orientations. These treatments can lead some men with a bisexual potential to marry a woman and have children. However, the men suffer terribly in these situations, and their wives and children are often innocent victims who suffer “collateral damage.” Rabbis who assert that homosexuality is a sin must consider that attempts to cure the sin lead to worse sins of damage to individual lives and society. The rabbis may also have unconscious, irrational reasons for their religious opinions, including selective empathy and unconscious disgust. Collective organization of LGBT orthodox people may open the way to alternative, more positive outcomes.
