“I’m Gay and I’m Catholic”: Negotiatg Two Complex Inti at a Catholic Universy | Soclogy of Relign | Oxford Amic

Contents:

• WHAT SHOULD A GAY CATHOLIC DO?
• I'M GAY, BUT I'M NOT SWCHG TO A CHURCH THAT SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE
• MOM DAD I’M GAY
• GAY UNSELOR'S FIRG BY INDIANAPOLIS CATHOLIC SCHOOL PERMTED BY FERAL APPEALS URT

WHAT SHOULD A GAY CATHOLIC DO?

Through participant observatn and terviews nducted wh gay and lbian stunts, we intify and discs four inty tegori based on whether stunts embrace or reject relig inti and sexual mory inti: (1) tegrated (embrace both inti), (2) liberated (embrace sexual inty, reject relig inty), (3) embattled (embrace relig inty, reject sexual inty), and (4) disillned (uncertaty about both inti). For example, many sexual mory stunts beg to unrstand their sexual inti for the first time (Rhoads 1994), face anti-gay sentiment (Cotten-Hton and Wae 2000; Woodford et al. Although negotiatg relig and sexual inti n be challengg across groups and ntexts due to inty nflict (Stryker and Burke 2000), religly-affiliated universi—which are ee to discrimate ways which other stutns nnot due to relig eedom laws—n tensify and plite inty velopment for sexual study explor how gay and lbian llege stunts simultaneoly grapple wh and velop their sexual and relig inti a highly relig stutn.

I'M GAY, BUT I'M NOT SWCHG TO A CHURCH THAT SUPPORTS GAY MARRIAGE

Reterpretatn among those who tegrate gay and Catholic inti uld be unrstood as rmal “lived” theology beg done njunctn wh, but also distctn om more formal bat among profsnal theologians. Dpe persistent polarizatn over same-sex relatnships, Amerins are now more likely to say that gay men and lbians serve at least formal equal rights such as same-sex marriage and ary service (Brewer 2014; Pew 2015; Schnabel 2016).

Yet, many relig groups ntue to draw cultural boundari opposn to same-sex relatnships (Schnabel 2016), and Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr, and Queer (LGBTQ) rights are equently seen as existg ntentn wh the relig eedoms of dividuals and even stutns. Dpe ntug tensn between tradnal relign and same-sex relatnships, a sexual-mory-affirmg “gay theology” has veloped, and some relig stutns wele gay and lbian Christians to their ngregatns (Rodriguez and Ouellette 2000; Chav and Anrson 2014). For stance, the recent shootg at an Orlando, Florida gay night club that rulted 49 aths has lled to qutn the extent to which relig doctre fluenc vlence and hate crim agast LGBTQ dividuals (Ste 2016).

MOM DAD I’M GAY

In rponse to a history of religly-motivated vlence agast LGBTQ persons, Pope Francis recently lled on the Catholic Church to not only apologize to the gay muny, but even ask s fivens (Gallagher and Burke 2016). Although negotiatg and tegratg sexual and relig inti is beg easier as new cultural tools bee available society at large, certa highly relig ntexts wh dogmatic official polici plite and sometim even actively oppose the tegratn of relig and gay inti.

Our study explor a ntext where relig and gay inti rema tensn by examg the lived experienc of relig, gay llege stunts, and how they unrstand their inty negotiatn a Catholic stutn. For example, Freas (2015) noted that the stunts she terviewed as part of her study on gay and lbian llege stunts 2000 uld not voke their relig inti nversatn whout simultaneoly vokg their sexuali. Universy atmospher wh anti-gay norms n produce fear of one’s own sexual inty and create a number of challeng for LGBTQ stunts, cludg makg harr to accept and velop their inti (Bowen and Bourgeois 2001; Cotten-Hton and Wae 2000; Hrichs and Rosenberg 2002).

Though many lleg, cludg some Christian on, have tablished support programs for gay and lbian stunts (Flax 1990; Coley 2016), LGBTQ persons equently rema a stigmatized mory by the majory heterosexual stunt populatn (Nadal 2013; Weeks 1989). Therefore, not only are LGBTQ stunts at Catholic-affiliated universi subject to the same homophobic and heterosexist margalizatn that all sexual mori experience higher tn, but the gree to which gay and lbian stunts are margalized and ma to feel ferr to their straight peers n be heightened when homosexualy is nmned by official Church doctre. In recent s the Catholic Church’s teachgs on homosexualy particular, found large part natural law beliefs about sex as procreative, have been ntted by Catholic theologians, scholars, lears, and lay (Cort 1992; Jon 1996).

GAY UNSELOR'S FIRG BY INDIANAPOLIS CATHOLIC SCHOOL PERMTED BY FERAL APPEALS URT

We summarize the Catholic Church’s teachgs on homosexualy what follows bee reterpretatn of Church teachg is central to how sexual mory Catholics make sense of the relig/sexual inty nex they negotiate as llege Catholicism has a precise and clearly articulated, though creasgly ntted, theology of sexual ethics based on beliefs about the meang and purpose of human sexualy. As Dillon (1999) not, homosexual acts are nsired sful bee they viate om dively ordaed natural laws and th do not lead to the transmissn of natural social teachg of the Catholic Church on homosexualy is explicly stated the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Catholic Church 2357 and 2358). While still argug that homosexual acts are sful, the bishops emphasized pastoral re for gay and lbian Catholics that clus rpect for their digny as human begs created by God.

Certaly Catholic dogma is not the only antagonist for the stunts’ inty negotiatn, and scholars uld jt as well foc on thgs like stunts’ fay relig socializatn, stutnal silencg of official LGBTQ groups, or other nstrats to inty tegratn faced by many young gay Catholics.

Though stunts certaly enter llege wh a range of different cultural tools (Baggett 2008), our terviewe tend to articulate a relative homogeney their relig upbrggs, and many terviewe seemed siarly equipped for inty negotiatn. As we analyzed terviews, four inty typ surfaced wh the larger culture of gay and lbian stunts: (1) the tegrated inty, (2) the liberated inty, (3) the embattled inty, and (4) the disillned inty. Illtratively, 9 of 10 were actively volved unofficial LGBTQ outreach clubs or activi and 7 of 10 felt they were helpg to improve the environment for gay and lbian stunts on mp.