North Americans' fear and preoccupation with safety and security as a result of the September 11 attacks is similar to that felt by gays and lesbians in daily life. Queer persons are not part of the Christian family, according to Jerry Falwell and other rightist Christian fundamentalists, including those involved in transformative ministry and reparative therapy. Transformational ministry is aimed at elimination of same-sex desire and intimacy and conversion to a heterosexual lifestyle. Reparative therapy is orthodox psychotherapy which, unlike current American Psychiatric Association practices, classifies homosexuality as a mental disorder. A politics of conversion, characterized by self-worth and concern for others, would argue against such exclusionary practices. Cornell West locates heterosexism in power intersections with white supremacy and patriarchy. His vision of a popular struggle for liberation incorporates queer people into a vision for cultural democracy. Democratic transformative learning is the responsibility of educators in order to eliminate not only homophobia but also racism and patriarchy from both curricula and campus activities. Exemplars of this goal include The Diversity Conferences of Alberta Society (DCAS), which worked to build understanding and create social justice while providing space and a place for gay and lesbian students and adults to deliberate issues of sexuality and spirituality; and Agape, which investigated sex-and-gender differences in education. (12 references) (AJ)