Allegations, Identity, and the Cost of Living a Lie: What The Donnie McClurkin Case Is So Telling

What Is Being Alleged

Recent headlines have reported that Donnie McClurkin, a well-known gospel artist and pastor, has been named in a civil lawsuit involving allegations connected to so-called “pray the gay away” or conversion-style religious sessions.

What is publicly reported so far:

• The lawsuit alleges that a young man experienced harm during religious counseling sessions intended to suppress or change his sexual orientation
• These sessions are often associated with what critics refer to as conversion practices
• Major mental-health organizations have long warned that such practices can cause psychological and emotional damage
• The claims remain allegations only and have not been ruled on by a court

This matters legally and ethically:

• Allegations are not facts
• No guilt has been established
• All parties are entitled to due process

Still, allegations like this don’t emerge in isolation. They tend to surface where power, secrecy, and unresolved identity collide.

The Larger Pattern People Avoid Talking About

Regardless of how this specific case is resolved, the broader issue is familiar.

For decades, certain religious systems have:

• Treated LGBTQ identity as a defect instead of a reality
• Framed suppression as holiness
• Rewarded silence and shame
• Discouraged honest self-examination

Professional psychological associations have repeatedly stated that efforts to change sexual orientation can increase:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Trauma
• Internalized shame
• Long-term emotional distress

That context exists whether one lawsuit succeeds or fails.

Opinion: This Is What Happens When You Live a Lie Long Enough

Here is the part people whisper about but rarely confront.

When someone is forced to deny who they are for years, the truth does not disappear. It leaks.

It leaks through:

• Secret behavior
• Emotional instability
• Power imbalances
• Control dynamics
• Hypocrisy
• Harm to others

Living a lie doesn’t make someone righteous.
It makes them fractured.

Public perfection becomes armor.
Private truth becomes a threat.

And when identity is treated as sin, the result is often damage disguised as discipline.

Authenticity Is Cheaper Than the Alternative

You can pay now or you can pay later.

Pay now:

• With honesty
• With uncomfortable conversations
• With lost approval

Or pay later:

• With scandal
• With broken trust
• With lawsuits
• With trauma left in your wake

History shows us again and again that forced denial eventually produces fallout.

So…

This case is alleged.
The courts will decide the legal facts.

But the lesson is universal.

If your faith requires you to erase yourself,
that is not healing.
That is harm.

Be who you are early.
Tell the truth before it turns into damage.
Stop pretending silence equals righteousness.