Concepts of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Religion/Spirituality, Stress, and Resilience Among Sexual and Gender Minorities: The Religious/Spiritual Stress and Resilience Model

“…Generally, RS SGMs report less family support than SGMs who are not religiously affiliated (Hamblin & Gross, 2013; Henrickson, 2007; Shilo & Savaya, 2012), with as many as two thirds of SGMs reporting experiencing some degree of parental rejection (VanderWaal et al, 2017). SGMs’ perceptions of parental rejection is a powerful predictor of poor health among SGM youth (Shearer et al, 2018), with their psychologically damaging effects often extending to adulthood (Heiden-Rootes et al, 2019; Ream, 2021; Sorrell et al, 2023).…”

“…However, SGMs continue to experience stigma and discrimination, which negatively affects their health (Meyer et al, 2021).Historically, many religious organizations and individuals have opposed legislation protecting SGMs from discrimination (Todd et al, 2020). Perhaps consequently, many SGMs have reported substantial harm from religious organizations and individuals, ranging from interpersonal rejection and discrimination to sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts Ream, 2021). Because…”

“…Historically, many religious organizations and individuals have opposed legislation protecting SGMs from discrimination (Todd et al, 2020). Perhaps consequently, many SGMs have reported substantial harm from religious organizations and individuals, ranging from interpersonal rejection and discrimination to sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts (Lefevor, Huffman, et al, 2020; Ream, 2021). Because of the prevalence of these reports, the dominant narrative in the psychological literature about religiousness or spirituality (RS; see Table 1 for a complete definition of RS and other key terms) among SGMs has been characterized by themes of oppression and conflict (cf.…”