Religious variables relevant to internalized homophobia and sexual identity development

Abstract

To date, the relationships of religious beliefs and attitudes in the adjustment of Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual adults has not been widely studied. Previously available studies indicate that gay men who are involved with Dignity (a gay-affirming denomination related to, but not necessarily supported by the Roman Catholic Church) and those with less conservative religious attitudes experience better adjustment than gay men with more traditional religious reference groups and beliefs (Wagner et al, 1994) There is also evidence that gay and lesbian Catholics who are involved with Dignity experience the Catholic church's attitude toward their sexuality as negative, but are similar to heterosexual Catholics in self-acceptance (O'Brien, 1991). Neither of these studies consider the possibility that levels of religious commitment may interact with other religious attitudes. This study seeks to (1) expand knowledge in this area to include G/L/B persons with other than Catholic affiliations, (2) examine a wider range of religious attitudes as they relate to the possible tension between sexual orientation and religious beliefs, and (3) to consider the potential for interaction of religious attitudes with levels of religious commitment.

Religious variables included level of religious commitment, scriptural literalism (i.e., a measure of religious conservatism), and postconventional religious reasoning. Postconventional religious reasoning is defined as the ability to derive personal religious beliefs and to make personal religious decisions independently of other authorities, such as family, clergy, and religious reference group. Adjustment variables considered in this study were internalized homophobia and sexual identity development.

The sample obtained for this study included both gay men and lesbian women, although the representation of bisexual people was inadequate to provide for generalizable results. A wide range of religious affiliations was represented in the sample. Results indicate that (1) scriptural literalism is not related to internalized homophobia or sexual identity development at a statistically significant level, (2) religious commitment does not predict internalized homophobia or sexual identity development, either as a main effect or through interactions with either scriptural literalism or postconventional religious reasoning, and (3) higher levels of postconventional religious reasoning predict lower levels of internalized homophobia and higher levels of sexual identity development. Ancillary analyses suggest that (1) higher levels of closeting are associated with higher levels of internalized homophobia and lower levels of sexual identity development and (2) individuals high in postconventional religious reasoning tend to be inconsistent in their use of scripturally literal interpretation.