A Voice in the Wilderness

Gay and Lesbian Religious Groups in the Western United States

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3610786
AutoresMichael J Maher (0000-0003-0577-3726, Loyola University Chicago, autor correspondente)
Ano2006
Volume51
Fascículo4
Páginas91-117
Data de publicação2006-11-06
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoJournal of Homosexuality (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0091-8369 • E-ISSN: 1540-3602
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1300/j082v51n04_05
PMID17135129
OpenAlexW2314131183
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas4
Referências citadas12

The paper describes a study of gay and lesbian religious groups located in the United States between the Mississippi River and the Pacific Ocean between March of 1989 and June of 1993. The researcher found 684 groups to have existed at some time in the region and conducted interviews to document 468 of these groups. While a history of these groups dates back to the 1930s in the region, large groups still existing today did not begin to form until the late 1960s. The six most common goals of the groups were social and support needs, worship, denominational and social politics, community service, and leadership in the gay and lesbian community. Being focused on gay and lesbian issues has an influence on when and how they came into existence (in the beginnings of the gay and lesbian movement, in response to the AIDS crisis, in response to anti-gay legislative initiatives), has an influence on the kinds of key themes addressed (ordination of gay and lesbian people, same-sex marriage, service for people with AIDS, sexual ethics in scripture), and has an influence on relationships with the larger community (shunning or inclusion in the larger society and in the larger religious community). However, the stronger influence is their identity as religious (and, therefore, social) institutions. They experience the same pressures of mainstream religion and as social institutions by facing issues of diversity, gender, age, politics, race, and disease. They face the same challenges as any religious institution today of being prophetic, responsive, changing, traditional, true, relevant, and even noticed. A distinct feature is their role on the fringes. They are on the fringe of religious life and on the fringe of gay and lesbian life

Homosexuality · Institution · Lesbian · Mainstream · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Gender Studies · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Reproductive Health and Technologies