Becoming an Intentional Church Community: Relationships, Security, and Discipleship in Sexual Identity and Faith Development

Dean, Janet B.; Stratton, Stephen P.; Yarhouse, Mark A.

doi:10.1177/0739891320948882

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…The historical oppression and trauma experienced by SM individuals, often at the hand of religion, likely relates to a lowered religious endorsement (Lefevor et al, 2020). However, many factors contribute to the range of ways individuals shape and conceptualize this multifaceted intersection (Halkitis et al, 2009) as there are many religious SM people who positively integrate the two identities (Chestna, 2015; Dean et al, 2020). The nature of the theological messages within a religion and an individual’s strictness of adherence to these beliefs are important considerations when attempting to understand sexual identity and religious endorsement.…”

Section: Religion and Sm Individualsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual identity and religious endorsement: The role of image of god and belief in punitive religious constructs.

Platt¹,

McCown²,

Szoka³

2021

Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

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For many sexual minority (SM) individuals, the intersection of religion and sexual identity is multifaceted and nuanced. Some SM people openly reject religion while others maintain a positive and fulfilling religious identity. The present study uses national-level data (Baylor Religion Survey, The Baylor religion survey, 2014) to investigate the role of one's image of God and belief in punitive theological constructs in predicting the levels of religious endorsement of SM respondents. The analyses investigate three research questions: (a) Do respondents who identify as SM individuals (i.e., gay, lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, or don't know) differ from heterosexual respondents on their levels of religious endorsement? (b) Does the nature of one's image of God from less to more judgmental mediate the relationship between sexual orientation and levels of religious endorsement?, and (c) Do higher levels of belief in punitive religious constructs mediate the relationship between sexual orientation of religious endorsement? The findings show that individuals who identify as gay, lesbian, homosexual, or bisexual have significantly lower religious endorsement than their heterosexual/straight peers and this relationship is mediated by one's level of belief in punitive religious constructs. Image of God is not a mediator variable, but independently predict levels of religious endorsement, even when controlling for sexual identity. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

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Section: Religion and Sm Individualsmentioning

confidence: 99%