Ties That Bind

SUMMARY

This paper explores how a group of Pakeha women who self-identify as lesbian, gay, or homosexual set about constructing new ways of being Christian, influenced by feminist world-views and an ethos of self-awareness. This construction meshes with new ways of being religious in modern societies, but it also demonstrates how lesbian women have much in common with other women within Christian churches. This paper, therefore, signals the continuing importance of gender as an intervening structure when exploring the relationship between sexuality and religion, specifically, the relationship between being lesbian and being Christian.

Key Words:

• Lesbians and Christianity
• lesbians and spirituality
• lesbians and religion