Religious Identity and Cultural Diversity: Exploring the Relationships Between Religious Identity, Sexism, Homophobia, and Multicultural Competence

Abstract

In this article, the authors present the results from a national study investigating the relationships between religious identity, sexism, homophobia, and multicultural competence. Participants were 111 randomly sampled counseling professionals and graduate students. The results indicated a relationship between religious identity and various aspects of valuing cultural diversity, including sexism, homophobia, and multicultural competence. Implications of the role of religion and religious identity in counseling are discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.

Personal and Professional Discord: Examining Religious Conservatism and Lesbian‐, Gay‐, and Bisexual‐Affirmative Counselor Competence

“…Mental health professionals are not immune to these prejudices because they “have been socialized in a society that stigmatizes sexual and gender minorities, and this context inevitably affects their knowledge and perceptions of LGBT [transgender] people” (IOM, , p. 2.6). Although there has been a growing body of professional counseling literature examining clients’ religion and spirituality, “very little research has focused on the role of the religious identity of counseling professionals” (Balkin et al, , p. 420).…”

Student Attitudes Toward Religious Diversity and Implications for Multicultural Competence

“…This is particularly relevant to the treatment of Muslim clients whose religion is often misrepresented and misunderstood. These findings suggest further that White and Christian social work practitioners may be challenged to demonstrate even greater introspection for this particular group, often vilified in the mainstream media, in order to advance their policy or therapeutic practice (Balkin et al, 2009;.…”

“…Spiritual beliefs are related to issues of social justice (Balkin, Schlosser, & Levitt, 2009;Prior & Quinn, 2012), consequently, practitioner spirituality may be linked to practice in ways that foster social and economic justice or in ways that may exacerbate injustices. Beliefs that tend to be more authoritarian and rigidly held may foster attitudes that are incongruent with social work values and impede one's ability to advocate in a socially just way (Balkin et al, 2009). Conversely, spiritual individuals may be more appreciative of different cultural and religious value systems.…”

Clinicians’ Perspective of the Relational Processes for Family and Individual Development During the Mediation of Religious and Sexual Identity Disclosure

“…Those studies that do include clinicians' perspectives are often quantitatively focused on how clinicians' religious attitudes and sexual orientations influence the therapeutic process and client relationship (e.g., Balkin, Schlosser, & Levitt, 2009;Green, Murphy, & Blumer, 2010;Stracuzzi, Mohr, & Fuertes, 2011) as opposed to a pragmatic discussion of the conflicts encountered around issues of religious involvement and the methods and strategies that counselors employ when working with sexual minority clients (Bozard & Sanders, 2011). For example, Balkin et al (2009) found that counselors with more rigid religious attitudes were more likely to exhibit homophobic attitudes. However, the question of exactly how these religious and homophobic attitudes influenced the counseling process was not explored.…”