star Clay Aiken, who had a book published by Thomas Nelson, announced this week that he is gay.

In an interview with People magazine that was published online yesterday, Aiken said he wanted to publicly acknowledge that he is a homosexual, following through on a promise he made to himself after the Aug. 8 birth of his son, Parker.

Aiken told People that Parker—who was conceived via in vitro fertilization with his best friend, music producer Jaymes Foster—will be raised in an environment that is "accepting and allowing him to be happy."

"I have no idea if he'll be gay or straight," said Aiken, one of the two finalists in the 2003 American Idol season. "It's not something I'll have anything to do with, or that he'll have anything to do with. It's already probably up inside the code there ... No matter what the situation you're in, if you're raised in a loving environment, that's the most important thing."

Lindsey Nobles, Thomas Nelson's director of corporate communications, told Christian Retailing that the world's largest Christian publisher had no comment on Aiken's announcement. She noted that since Nelson published Aiken's Learning to Sing in 2004, approximately 20,000 copies of the singer's memoir have been sold.

Aiken is the latest Christian singer to disclose his struggle with homosexuality. Ray Boltz, who retired from contemporary Christian music a few years ago after selling approximately 4.5 million records, revealed earlier this month that he is gay.