First Advisor
Larry R. Martinez
Date of Award
Spring 6-12-2022
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Social Work and University Honors
Department
Social Work
Language
English
Subjects
Sexual minorities -- Religious life, Church work with sexual minorities, Gender identity -- Religious aspects, Sexual orientation -- Religious aspects, Belonging (Social psychology)
DOI
10.15760/honors.1285
Abstract
Welcoming but not affirming Evangelical, Pentecostal, and non-denominational churches invite LGBTQ+ people to attend their church, but do not affirm their identity as a gender and/or sexual minority. Because of this, they restrict LGBTQ+ attendees from participating in leadership, paid staff positions, and ministry work. LGBTQ+ attendees are often not aware of these restrictive policies initially. The current study aims to examine how LGBTQ+ people navigate their faith and identity within welcoming but not affirming church spaces through narrative analysis. Fifteen participants engaged in an interview, where they were asked about their experience within welcoming but not affirming church spaces. Participants discussed the need for clarity and communication from welcoming but not affirming churches regarding their beliefs and policies regarding gender and sexual minorities. They shared stories of losing leadership positions and losing community. Various mental health concerns, a need to mask one's true identity, and a feeling of ostracization are discussed. Another point of discussion is areas of resilience--how LGBTQ+ people have survived and thrived spiritually after their experience within a non-affirming congregation. Going forward, interviewees described a need for LGBTQ+ representation within church spaces. The study closes with a brief discussion of the aforementioned identified themes, along with limitations of the study and suggestions for future research.
Rights
© 2022 Sarah Rasmussen
In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/37865
Recommended Citation
Rasmussen, Sarah E., "LGBTQ+ Congregants Navigating Identity in the Context of "Welcoming but Not Affirming" Evangelical, Pentecostal, and Non-denominational Religious Institutions: A Queer Narrative Analysis" (2022). University Honors Theses. Paper 1254.
https://doi.org/10.15760/honors.1285
Included in
Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons, Sociology of Religion Commons