Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons^™

Pastor Self-Perceived Preparedness And Training To Model And Lead Sensitivity In Their Congregations And Spiritually Lead Lgbtq Individuals: A Qualitative Study Of Pastors Of The Potomac Ministry Network Of The Assemblies Of God, Tina L. Boswell-Stickley

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Pastors are responsible for creating welcoming atmospheres within their church buildings and congregations. Societal changes have raised questions about pastors’ preparedness to do so, particularly regarding the LGBTQ community. This qualitative study interviewed lead pastors from the Potomac Ministry Network (PMN) of the Assemblies of God regarding their self-perceived preparedness to model sensitivity and minister to the LGBTQ community. It explored pastor training, experiences, perceptions, and needs to serve this population better. Interviews were transcribed, indexed, coded, and analyzed to identify themes and better understand the dynamics regarding this issue. Results are reported, including limitations, discussions, recommendations, and identified needed …

Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Adults’ Experiences With Supportive Religious Groups, Rachel Grossman

Antioch University Full-Text Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative research study was designed to explore lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) young adults’ views about how being a member of supportive and affirming religious places of worship and social groups influenced their self-acceptance, as well as their ability to integrate their religious and sexual minority identities. In this study, six in-person interviews were completed with participants who (a) were 18-24 years old; (b) identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual; (c) were members of supportive Jewish and Christian religious groups; and (d) identified as cisgender. The data from the interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis to tell cohesive stories …

Perpetua And Felicity: The Unofficial Lesbian Saints, Mari Tonsfeldt

Essential Studies UNDergraduate Showcase

The concept of homosexuality did not exist prior to the nineteenth century. In literature, this made lesbians a rarity. With the absence of women writers and even fewer lesbian writers, the question for historians became how to find our queer ancestors. Defining anyone in the Medieval Age as homosexual is anachronistic at but modern lesbians could hardly be the first.

Saints Perpetua and Felicity are commonly regarded among the LGBTQ community and members of the Catholic Church as the Patron Saints of Same-Sex Relationships but in St. Perpetua’s self-penned diary and martyr story, the two women have only one direct …

Believer, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of Believer (2018), directed by Don Argott.

Queering The Library Of Congress, Carlos R. Fernandez

Works of the FIU Libraries

This poster will attempt to apply the techniques used in Queer Theory to explore library and information science’s use and misuse of library classification systems; and to examine how “queering” these philosophical categories can not only improve libraries, but also help change social constructs.

For millennia, philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, have used and expounded upon categories and systems of classification. Their purpose is to make research and the retrieval of information easier. Unfortunately, the rules used to categorize and catalog make information retrieval more challenging for some, due to social constructs such as heteronormality.

The importance of this …

Spiritual Violence: Queer People And The Sacrament Of Communion, Sabrina Diz

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis addresses spiritual violence done to queer people in the sacrament of Communion, or Eucharist, in both Protestant and Roman Catholic churches in the U.S. Rooted in the sexual dimorphic interpretation of Genesis, theologians engendered Christianity with sexism and patriarchy, both of which have since developed into intricate intersections of oppressions. Religious abuse is founded on the tradition of exclusionary practices and is validated through narrow interpretations of Scripture that work to reassert the authority of the experiences of the dominant culture. The resultant culture of oppression manifests itself in ritualized spiritual violence. Queer people are deemed “unworthy” to …

The Reactionary Road To Free Love: How Doma, State Marriage Amendments And Social Conservatives Undermine Traditional Marriage, Scott Titshaw

Scott Titshaw

Much has been written about the possible effects on different-sex marriage of legally recognizing same-sex marriage. This article looks at the defense of marriage from a different angle: It shows how rejecting same-sex marriage results in political compromise and the proliferation of “marriage light” alternatives (e.g., civil unions, domestic partnerships, or reciprocal beneficiaries) that undermine the unique status of marriage for everyone. In the process, it examines several aspects of the marriage debate in detail. After describing the flexibility of marriage as it has evolved over time, the article focuses on recent state constitutional amendments attempting to stop further development. …

Liberating Visions: Religion And The Challenge Of Change In Maine,1820 To The Present, University Of Southern Maine, Susie Boch, Joseph S. Wood, Maureen Elgersman Lee, Howard M. Solomon, Abraham J. Peck

Publications (Annual Event Catalog)

Liberating Visions: Religion and the Challenge of Change in Maine, 1820 to the Present. Each of the Sampson Center’s three scholars has crafted an original essay related to one of the Sampson Center collections—African-American, Judaic, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender—thereby reflecting on how religious institutions have fostered minority identity and have framed social and cultural transformation.

Table of Contents:

Religion and Transformation (Joseph S. Wood, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs)

Jean Byers Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine Programming (Susie Bock, Director, Sampson Center for Diversity in Maine and Head, USM Special Collections)

The African American …

The Relationship Among Disclosure, Internalized Homophobia, Religiosity, And Psychological Well-Being In A Lesbian Population, Sharon Lyn Clayman

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship among disclosure, internalized homophobia, and religiosity in a lesbian population and how these three variables are related to psychological well-being in order to build upon the scant amount of empirical research on these variables in the lesbian psychological literature. A total of 679 women, 18 to 70 years old, and from all across the country were recruited via the internet to participate in a web-based survey. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Lesbian Internalized Homophobia Scale (Szymanski & Chung, 2001), the Outness Inventory (Mohr & Fassinger, 2000), the Behavioral Self-Disclosure Questionnaire (Carroll & Gilroy, 2000), …