🚨 Content Warning: This episode discusses conversion therapy, religious trauma, and anti-LGBTQ+ practices. Listener discretion is advised.

Beautiful queer & trans fam, thank you for your patience with the release of this episode! Join me for this deeply important episode where we hear from a powerful voice who is a queer survivor, activist, and scholar. Today’s guest, Dr. Lucas Wilson (he/him), shares his experience escaping the grips of evangelical “ex-gay” conversion therapy and his ongoing mission to expose how religion — especially the New Christian Right — harms LGBTQ+ folks.

About Today’s Guest

Dr Lucas Wilson is a Canadian academic, author, and proud survivor of a secretive conversion therapy program at Liberty University. He’s now a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto–Mississauga and an outspoken advocate who brings scholarly activism to the conversation around evangelicalism, queerness, and systemic discrimination. His work shines a light on the many harms inflicted on sexual and gender minorities by religious extremism and works to give voice to those lived experiences — all while fighting back through both academic and creative avenues.

What We Talk About

• Lucas’s journey from evangelical faith to living authentically as a gay man
• His complicated feelings around spirituality, identity, and self-acceptance
• The role of evangelicalism in shaping anti-LGBTQ+ prejudice and discrimination
• The pain, trauma, and erasure experienced by queer folks in religious communities
• The importance of exposing conversion therapy and extremist religious politics
• Advice for queer and trans youth on confidence, community, and self-love
• A call to lawmakers and society to stop legislating against queer and trans lives
• Lucas’s upcoming projects highlighting queer experiences in Christian higher education

Key Takeaways

• Identity is complex; for Lucas, “Jesus” once defined him, but now he finds peace without needing to replace that spirituality.
• Evangelicalism can breed rigid, harmful thinking, but breaking free allows authentic living and greater joy.
• Queerness offers freedom from societal “scripts” — an invitation to create your own path.
• Conversion therapy and anti-LGBTQ+ laws inflict real harm, and those responsible should be held accountable.
• Confidence paired with empathy and community can be life-saving for queer and trans youth.
• Scholarly activism is a powerful tool to expose and dismantle oppressive systems from within.

Guest Links/Resources for Dr. Lucas:

• Instagram: @lukeslamdunkwilson
• BlueSky: @lukeslamdunkwilson
• Threads: @lukeslamdunkwilson
• Twitter: @Wilson_fw
• LinkedIn: Lucas Wilson
• Facebook: Luke Wilson
• Submit Your Story: Lucas is collecting stories of queer experiences from Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries for his next project. Reach out to him via social media if you want to share.

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Host: Stevie Inghram, M.S., YT, AWC, NMS-4 (She/They)

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