Resolving Identity Conflict: Gay, Lesbian, and Queer Individuals with a Christian Upbringing

Abstract

Gay, lesbian, and queer individuals with a Christian upbringing often experience conflict between religion and sexual identity. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand how gay, lesbian, and queer-identified individuals with a Christian upbringing resolve conflict between sexual identity and religious beliefs. Analysis of in-depth interviews with 15 participants led to 3 conclusions. First, resolving the discord between sexual identity and religious beliefs is a five-stage process of internal conflict resolution. Second, personal and contextual factors affect every aspect of the resolution process. Finally, faith development and sexual identity development are intertwined and fluid constructions.

Specific Aspects of Minority Stress Associated With Depression Among LDS Affiliated Non-Heterosexual Adults

“…Additionally, respondents who were active in the LDS church scored significantly higher on all five LGBIS scales than inactive and unaffiliated participants, with inactive members scoring higher than unaffiliated ones. Individuals afraid of facing negative consequences from Downloaded by [New York University] at 05:42 01 June 2015 their deity or religious institutions (e.g., going to hell or excommunication) due to their homosexuality may experience cognitive dissonance resulting from their conflicting identities (e.g., Barnes & Meyer;2012;Levy & Reeves, 2011). This is particularly relevant considering Schuck and Liddle's (2001) findings that approximately two thirds of non-heterosexuals experienced conflict between sexual and religious identities.…”

“…Moreover, as Moss (2012) explained, non-heterosexual individuals often seek to alleviate the dissonance that arises from conflicting identities by attempting to alter or reject one of their conflicting identities to preserve another. Some individuals employ methods such as denying, avoiding, concealing, or trying to "pray away" their same-sex desires once they become aware of their nonheterosexuality (Levy & Reeves, 2011). However, such efforts are commonly met with feelings of depression, hopelessness, and despair (Dahl, 2012a(Dahl, , 2012b.…”

A Comparison of Sexual Minority Youth Who Attend Religiously Affiliated Schools and Their Nonreligious-School-Attending Counterparts

“…For instance, a study by Levy and Reeves (2011) includes in-depth interviews of gay, lesbian, and queer individuals with a Christian upbringing to understand the process by which these individuals resolve conflicts between their sexual identity and religious beliefs. How such potential conflicts are resolved by individuals in a religiously affiliated school environment is an important area for future study.…”

A Review of Minority Stress Related to Employees’ Demographics and the Development of an Intersectional Framework for Their Coping Strategies in the Workplace

“…Against this background most religions and related ethnic communities do not accept homosexuality and bisexuality, especially male homo-and bisexuality, or they make it at least a divisive issue (Hurteau 2013). This might cause struggles in integrating sexual and ethnic or religious identities (Levy & Reeves 2011) and it might negatively affect the individual's coping resources in terms of handling stigmarelated minority stress deriving from one's homosexuality or bisexuality (Ganzevoort, van der Laan, & Olsman 2010). In terms of gender, several studies show that boys and men have stronger homophobic attitudes than girls and women (Hooghe, Claes, Harell, Quintelier, & Dejaeghere 2010).…”