Is it obligatory for someone who has committed the abomination of sodomy and repented from it to change his path in seeking Islamic knowledge for fear of his matter being exposed?

We advise you to gain a deep understanding of the religion, for sacred knowledge is the best of sciences, and the inheritance of the prophets, and it is the knowledge praised in the Book and the Sunnah. As for your fear of disgrace due to the grave sin, if you repent with sincere repentance, Allah will accept your repentance and conceal you, for "the one who repents from a sin is like one who has no sin." We also advise you to have a good opinion of Allah, strive in supplicating Him to conceal you, and maintain the prescribed morning and evening remembrances, such as the supplication: "O Allah, I ask You for pardon and well-being in this world and the Hereafter..."