Identity-Affirming Religious Experience & Political Activism among LGBT People

• In Event: Intersectional Identities and Politics within LGBTQ Communities

Abstract

Contrary to popular stereotypes, recent research indicates a majority of LGBT people identify with some religious tradition. Importantly, among LGBT people, religious belief and activity conditionally act as a political resource, augmenting political participation. When one’s sexual identity and religious beliefs conflict, however, sexual minorities are likely to avoid participating in political activity that highlights this conflict (e.g. LGBT political activism). In recent decades, an increasing number of religious congregations have adopted theologies that explicitly affirm their LGBT congregants’ sexual and gender minority identity. Yet there is a gap in the social scientific literature examining the relationship between affirming religious experiences and political participation.

In this study, I quantitatively examine affirming religious experiences using data collected from a sample of LGBT adults in the United States and a unique survey instrument. Building on the resource paradigm of political participation, I hypothesize that attending an affirming religious congregation increases psychological resources such as LGBT group consciousness and internal efficacy that are easily translatable into political participation among marginalized groups. I find that almost one-quarter of religious LGBT people report attending an affirming congregation and that attendance is positively associated with both psychological resources and political participation across a number of indicators, including voting, volunteerism, and monetary contributions. The relationship is especially pronounced among rural LGBT people; however, there are geographic limitations as rural LGBT people are less likely to have access to affirming congregations than urban LGBT people.

Author

• Royal Gene Cravens, California Polytechnic State University