Author to speak on being gay at an ultra-religious school

Marc Adams was born into a religious family in Shavertown, Pa., the son of a Baptist minister.

He attended fundamentalist religious schools and was brought up in what he described as a "cult-like atmosphere."

Realizing he was gay didn't help matters. Often the victim of discrimination and abuse, he attempted for years to overcome his sexual orientation, he said.

Adams attended Liberty University, a Christian evangelical school founded by Jerry Falwell in 1971, in part as an act of rebellion -- his parents considered Falwell a "liberal." He also hoped to continue his failed efforts to become straight, which included therapy.

After a couple of years of college, where he worked in Liberty's student recruiting and university relations department, he dropped out and moved to Los Angeles.

Adams later wrote about these experiences in an autobiography, "The Preacher's Son."