Changes in Religiosity Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Emerging Adults

Abstract

Highly religious Americans are relatively likely to oppose lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) rights and many churches are unwelcoming to sexual minorities, which may lead LGB Americans to retreat from religion. To assess this possibility, we investigate trajectories of religious change for sexual minorities and other emerging adults. We use two longitudinal data sources (National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health and the National Study of Youth and Religion) to explore how sexuality predicts the likelihood of decreasing religiosity in emerging adulthood. Results show that three different operationalizations of sexual minority status—attraction, behavior, and identity—are each strongly and consistently associated with disaffiliating from religion and declines in religious service attendance. On the other hand, sexual minority status has inconsistent and relatively small associations with changes in prayer. We conclude by discussing how these results further understanding of religion, sexual identity, and the current generation of emerging adults.

The Proverbial Closet: Do Faith and Religiosity Affect Coming Out Patterns?

“…Extant research has found racial/ethnic identity (Grov et al 2006), gender (Savin-Williams andDiamond 2000), and educational attainment/access (Pearson and Wilkinson 2017) shape when an LGB individual personally realizes their sexual identity and when they choose to disclose this identity to another person (Haltom and Ratcliff 2020). Notwithstanding existing empirical insights (see Burge [2018] and Woodell and Schwadel [2020]), there remains a dearth of research examining the effect religion has on sexual minority experiences, particularly coming out. While scholars have theorized how certain religious contexts-particularly evangelical (or "sectarian") Protestantism-lead to conflict between one's religious and sexual minority identity (Page, Lindahl, and Malik 2013;Schwartz and Lindley 2009;Wetzel 2014), the consequences of such conflict remain understudied.…”

“…LGB individuals have a variety of religious identities (albeit with different rates compared to the overall U.S. population) (Pew Research Center 2013Woodell, Kazyak, and Compton 2015). However, LGB individuals who subscribe or are regularly exposed to more conservative religious ideologies (particularly evangelical Protestantism) may experience internal conflicts when reconciling two seemingly divergent identities (Burge 2018;Woodell and Schwadel 2020).…”

“…Religiosity, or involvement with and/or commitment to religious organizations and teachings, shapes beliefs and behaviors based on respective religious teachings and a given denomination's interpretation of those teachings (Gottfredson and Hirschi 1990;Johnson et al 2001;Perry 2015;Perry and Whitehead 2016). Despite insights into how religiosity influences views on LGB issues (Finlay and Walther 2003;Sherkat et al 2010), it is less clear how sexual minorities' religiosity is associated with their experiences (Woodell and Schwadel 2020).…”

“…1 The timing of these milestones varies across sociocultural identities (e.g., race, class, gender; Grov et al 2006;Haltom and Ratcliff 2020;Rosario, Rotheram-Borus, and Reid 1996). Yet, how religious contexts, such as faith and religiosity, are associated with sexual minority identity formation remains understudied (Beagan and Hattie 2015;Woodell and Schwadel 2020). Given religious denominations' range of attitudes toward LGB people and issues, this raises questions about how exposure to certain religious contexts may affect sexual minority identity development (Rivera 2019;Robertson and Dias 2020).…”

“…However, mainline Protestants (Schnabel 2016) and Catholics (Sherkat, De Vries, and Creek 2010;Whitehead 2010) have shifted their perspectives over time (Human Rights Campaign 2020). In comparison, evangelical Protestants, sometimes referred to as secular Protestants, have consistently held more conservative, or negative, views toward same-sex relationships and practices (Perry and Whitehead 2016;Schwadel and Garneau 2019;Woodell and Schwadel 2020). These negative views are due, in part, to more literal interpretations of the bible and other religious doctrines that marginalize and stigmatize sexual minorities (Perry 2015;Putnam and Campbell 2010;Schwadel and Garneau 2019).…”