Loss of Religious or Spiritual Identities Among the LGBT Population

Abstract

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals are at risk of having negative experiences with religion because of mainstream religions' non-LGBT-affirming stance. Negative religious experiences can lead to religious or spiritual (R/S) struggles and loss of R/S identity to maintain sexual identity. The authors describe R/S abuse, R/S struggle, and how these can result in loss of R/S identity in LGBT individuals. They provide a case study and discuss counseling implications and areas for future research.Keywords: religious identity, sexual identity, LGBT, religious abuse, loss T he loss of religious or spiritual (R/S) identity can be a significant development in individuals' lives and can complicate their lives by eliciting emotions that range from relief to anger (Barra et al., 1993). Often when individuals experience pain, they turn to their R/S beliefs for comfort; however, if their R/S beliefs are a source of pain, their R/S identity can be in jeopardy. For many historically marginalized populations, relationships with mainstream religious institutions can be contentious.

Religiosity as a protective factor for hazardous drinking and drug use among sexual minority and heterosexual women: Findings from the National Alcohol Survey

“…Some researchers note that relationships with religiosity appear to change over time among sexual minorities, and that adult conceptualizations of religion or spirituality for sexual minorities may differ considerably from those in which they were raised (Halkitis et al, 2009; Sherry et al, 2010). Religion remains important for many sexual minorities (Halkitas, 2009), and distancing from religion may generate feelings of loss and grief (Hansen and Lambert, 2011; Ream and Savin-Williams, 2005; Wood and Conley, 2014). It may be that religiosity becomes protective after conflicts related to spirituality in adolescence and young adulthood have been resolved.…”

Living in Sin? How Gay Catholics Manage Their Conflicting Sexual and Religious Identities

“…They may use compartmentalization, a short-term coping strategy to reduce intra-psychic conflicts associated with multiple, incompatible identities, by de-emphasizing one of them, depending on the context. For example, when attending a religious institution, the gay identity would be de-emphasized and, when attending a gay festival, the religious one (Coyle & Rafalin, 2001 , Rodriguez & Ouellette, 2000 ; Wood & Conley, 2014 ). However, Jaspal and Cinnirella ( 2010 ) questioned the suitability of this strategy for those for whom religion constitutes a whole meaning-making system, informing their life narratives and other identities.…”

A Experiência Religiosa/Espiritual de Lésbicas, Gays e Bissexuais: Uma Revisão Integrativa de Literatura

“…A participação em igrejas inclusivas ou com pessoas de dentro da congregação que não percebiam a homossexualidade como problemática representa a terceira estratégia de integração identificada nos estudos (Bowland et al, 2013;García et al, 2008;Jeffries et al, 2014;Wood & Conley, 2014). Essa estratégia se mostrou uma saída eficiente para muitos sujeitos, uma vez que as igrejas inclusivas são aquelas nas quais as sexualidades não heterossexuais (LGBs) são compatibilizadas com as religiosidades cristãs, ou seja, não julgadas como moralmente inferiores ou pecado.…”

“…Jaspal, 2012;Jeffries et al, 2014;Lalich & McLaren, 2010;Wood & Conley, 2014); ou b) manter a identidade religiosa em detrimento da orientação sexual ou tentativa de supressão desta (e.g. Siraj, 2012;Trammell, 2015;Wood & Conley, 2014), seja por meio da terapia de conversão sexual (Figueroa & Tasker, 2013;Ganzevoort et al 2011;Lalich & McLaren, 2010) ou do casamento heterossexual Lalich & McLaren, 2010;. As terapias de mudança de orientação sexual e casamento heterossexual foram sugeridos a partir da busca de aconselhamento com os superiores, na esperança de que ambas as estratégias revertessem a homossexualidade.…”