Miley Cyrus Says She Left Church because Gay Friends were Forced into Conversion Therapy

In an episode of Miley Cyrus' new Instagram show "Bright Minded," the pop star revealed to pal Hailey Bieber (nee Baldwin) that she stopped going to church after learning her gay friends weren't being accepted and forced into conversion therapy.

"I had some gay friends in school," the "Wrecking Ball" singer said. "The reason why I left my church is that they weren't being accepted. They were being sent to conversion therapies."

The particle of conversion therapy aims to "turn" gay people straight but it has been banned for minors in 20 states and discredited by the American Psychological Association and the American Medical Association. Virginia is the latest state to outlaw conversion therapy – the first state in the South.

"I was also brought up in the church in Tennessee at a time in the '90s, so it was a less accepting time with all that," she added. "I had a hard time with me finding my sexuality, too."

Cyrus, a longtime supporter of LGBTQ rights, does not identify as straight and said she came out as pansexual to her mother when she was 14 years old.

Bieber, a model who recently married Justin Bieber, is deeply Christian and, along with her husband, has been vocal about the importance of her religious beliefs. She told Cyrus that her faith has changed over the years and urged her friend to "explore" the relationship with religion again.

"I believe that Jesus is about loving people, no matter where they are in life," Bieber told Cyrus. "I've always had a hard time with church making people feel excluded and not accepted, and they can't be a part of it because of what they believe in and who they love."

Cyrus said she's open to reconsidering her faith.

"So I think now you telling me that I'm allowed to redesign my relationship with God as an adult and make it how it feels most accepting to me would make me feel so less turned off by spirituality," she said.

Watch a clip of their conversation below.

[H/T NBC News]