presented at the University of California, Irvine To Social Ecology Honors Research Colleagues By

1. Religion and Non-Heterosexual Identity: An evaluation of cognitive dissonance for religious lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals. presented at the University of California, Irvine To Social Ecology Honors Research Colleagues By Jeanette Veatch Wayland May 14, 2005

2. Introduction Homophobia and heterosexism are liturgical threads intricately woven into the doctrine of traditional world religions. Non-heterosexual relationships for members are never condoned; in some religions, participants in lesbian, gay or bisexual relationships are condemned.

3. Why should we care?

4. Impact of Religious Homophobia on Society

5. Impact of Religious Heterosexism on Society Heterosexism is the belief that heterosexuality is the only natural, normal and acceptable sexual orientation. This is rarely asserted directly and usually manifests itself subtly within the institutions of society and the attitudes of heterosexuals. Examples: setting aside certain societal benefits for heterosexuals (right to marry, right to worship, right to adopt children, right to file joint tax returns with partner, etc.)

6. We have seen the effects of religious heterosexism and homophobia on SOCIETY. But, what effect does heterosexist and homophobic religious liturgy have on religious lesbian, gay and bisexual INDIVIDUALS?

7. We have never taken the time to ask... There is virtually no research that measures this construct for religious lesbian, gay and bisexual people.

8. Vicarious Learning (Bandura, 1977)

9. Cognitive Dissonance… but I am not heterosexual...how can I be both? I’m a Catholic. …is the psychological discomfort that results when one’s public behavior conflicts with his/her private beliefs. The longer this conflict is unresolved, the more likely we are to suffer emotionally. Private Beliefs Public Behaviors (Festinger, 1957)

10. Hypotheses H1 A majority of religious lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals will experience cognitive dissonance attributable to their exposure to heterosexist religious liturgy throughout their childhood. H2 This religious-sexual orientation dissonance may be correlated with mental health issues for religious lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals. Buddhism Christianity* Hindu Islam Judaism

11. Methodology – Self Report Survey • The survey consisted of forty-one quantitative questions including: • Subject’s age • Gender • Ethnicity Childhood religion and level of religiosity • Adult religion and level of religiosity • Sexual-orientation • Closeted status before and after sexual orientation awareness • Level of education • Current daily activities • Mental health issues attributable to religion-sexual orientation dissonance • One full page qualitative section where participants could write a narrative of their experience with religion. • 15-20 minutes to complete both the quantitative and qualitative sections. • The survey did not include questions regarding personal data (names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, or any identifying characteristics. Participation was completely anonymous and voluntary. • Surveys were distributed to LGB community centers, churches, and LGB internet list serves.

12. Gender of participant Female 40% 60% Male

13. Participant's Self-reported Sexual Orientation Other Bisexual 10% 26% Lesbian 60% Gay

14. Participant's childhood religion Assembly of God Buddhism Other 17% Southern Baptist 40% Catholicism Presbyterian 13% Non-Denominational Christianity 13% Methodist Episcopal

15. H1: Did the incompatibility between religion and sexual orientation cause you emotional discomfort? These findings lend support to H1 Extreme Emotional Discomfort 50% Some Emotional Discomfort 20% 20% Missing data 10% No Emotional Discomfort

16. These findings lend support to H2 Yes 60% No 40% H2: Did you experience any mental health issues as a result of this religion-sexual orientation dissonance?

17. Of the 60% reporting mental health issues… 58 % - Anxiety 50 % - Depression 40 % - Isolation 36 % - Low Self-Esteem 32 % - Thoughts of Suicide 21 % - Problems with Authority Figures 19 % - Sexual Behavior that you Later Regretted 13 % - Eating Disorders 11 % - Substance Abuse 11 % - Suicide Attempts * % add up to greater than 100% – this question was a multiple response item

18. Where do we go from here? • Future Research: • Larger sample • Greater heterogeneity in religion, ethnicity, education, gender, and region • Update the Survey to improve its reliability and validity • Personal Interviews with subject population • Increased resources to collect and analyze data Theological changes? Hopefully… If orthodox religion expects to remain relevant in society, it must seek to serve all members of humanity – not just a select few. Eventually, even those who benefit from heterosexism may tire of this hypocrisy.

19. Non-traditional Religious Denominations that are open and affirming to lesbian, gay and bisexual congregants: Assembly of God* – Grace Assembly; www.umaffirm.org Buddhist – dharma friends; www.web.net/~qdharma/home.htm Christian* – Gay Christian Network;www.gaychristian.net Catholic* – Dignity USA; www.dignityusa.org Episcopal* –Integrity; www.integrityusa.org Hindu – Gay Hindu;www.gayhindu.com Islam – Queer Jihad; www.well.com/user/queerjhd Judaism – Frum Gay Jews; www.OrthoGays.com Lutheran* –Lutheran Lesbian & Gay Ministries (LLGM); www.llgm.org Methodist* – Affirm; www.umaffirm.org *Christian Denominations

20. Acknowledgements • Dr. Christine Browning, UCI • Dr. Valerie Jenness, UCI • Pat Walsh, M.A., MSW, UCI • Dr. David Dooley, UCI Funding provided by: UROP – Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program

21. Jeanette Veatch Wayland jwayland@uci.edu