“HOW CAN I FIND GOD AGAIN?”: IDENTITY CONFLICT RESOLUTION FOR LGBTQ CHRISTIANS AND FORMER CHRISTIANS AS SHAPED THROUGH SOCIAL FACTORS

Abstract

Historically the Christian community has not been supportive of the LGBTQ community. Church teachings of many denominations have focused on the sin of homosexuality, rather than the person who experiences same-sex attraction. Recently, many LGBTQ people have shared their experiences as gay Christians, and some denominations have begun to teach affirmation and acceptance. Despite growing acceptance, it is still difficult for LGBTQ individuals to maintain a Christian identity without exploring and reshaping their own understanding of religion’s role and importance in their lives. This research seeks to add to the growing body of literature on LGBTQ Christians, by examining the resolution strategies, experiences, and familial support of LGBTQ individuals through posts and interactions on an online forum. Unlike many studies on LGBTQ Christians, this study also pays particular attention to those who abandon their Christian identity. This study finds that their experiences are similar to those who remain Christian, as they also change the way they think about these issues. The data for this project comes from participants posts on a custom, password protected website; their responses served as the data for this project. The majority of the participants are from Tennessee, which is the Buckle of the Bible Belt. Their geographic location was a factor in their development of religious identity and the overall experience with Christianity. The participants were asked about how they developed, maintained or abandoned religion through thirteen questions. For those participants who abandoned religion, and those who maintained religion it was important to shift thinking about religion. All participants describe exploring other denominations, religions and atheism in their process of resolving the conflict between religion and sexual identity.