The Reciprocal Relationship Between Religious Beliefs and Acceptance of One’s Gay or Lesbian Family Member

ABSTRACT

Research suggests that the coming out process can be stressful not only for individuals disclosing their sexual orientation, but also for the family members who receive the news. While research demonstrates that family acceptance of such disclosures is related to one’s religious beliefs, less is known about how religion influences the process of acceptance. There are theoretical reasons to expect that individuals’ religious beliefs interact with their attitudes regarding acceptance in reciprocal ways. Utilizing data from 14 semistructured interviews with family members of lesbian and gay individuals, we offer a preliminary examination of how the process of acceptance is both influenced by and influences a person’s own religious beliefs. Results suggest that the acceptance process involves a complex interaction between an individual’s general proclivity toward acceptance, the degree to which religion promotes or opposes the acceptance of same-sex relationships, and the level of investment one has in their church.

Acknowledgments

We thank our research subjects for their willingness to participate in this study.

Notes

¹Steensland et al.’s (2000) classification system is not the only classification system used for religious groups. Sherkat’s (2014) classification system is more nuanced, with 13 religious categories. Notable differences between the Steensland et al. and Sherkat classification systems include Sherkat placing Episcopalians in a separate category, separating Christian and Quaker as other Christian groups, and dividing Baptists into different categories. In addition to these differences in categorizing religious groups, it is also important to note that Steensland et al. and Sherkat use somewhat different criteria for their classification systems. We decided to use the Steensland et al. classification scheme because the definitions of the various categories are a better fit for our data and allow us to make meaningful comparisons across categories. Using Sherkat’s 13-category system would spread our data out across too many categories to make any meaningful comparisons.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Katherine Zeininger

Katie Zeininger holds a BA and MA in Sociology. Her areas of interest include the LGBTQ community and religion. Currently, Katie works for UW Health in Madison, Wisconsin.

Mellisa Holtzman

Mellisa Holtzman is a Professor of Sociology at Ball State University. Her research interests are in the areas of family, family law, and sexual assault prevention.

Rachel Kraus

Rachel Kraus is Professor of Sociology at Ball State University. Her research interests include the intersections of religion and spirituality, gender, sexuality, and identity.