Im Gay and Im Catholic: Negotiating Two Complex Identities at a Catholic University
This article examines the negotiation of sexual and religious identities among gay and lesbian students on a Catholic university campus. We explore context-specific identity negotiation to determine how and why, even in a time of increasing societal acceptance of sexual minorities, boundaries betwee...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Contributors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford Univ. Press
[2017]
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| In: |
Sociology of religion
Year: 2017, Volume: 78, Issue: 3, Pages: 289-317 |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | This article examines the negotiation of sexual and religious identities among gay and lesbian students on a Catholic university campus. We explore context-specific identity negotiation to determine how and why, even in a time of increasing societal acceptance of sexual minorities, boundaries between faith and sexual identity persist. Through participant observation and interviews conducted with gay and lesbian students, we identify and discuss four identity categories based on whether students embrace or reject religious identities and sexual minority identities: (1) integrated (embrace both identities), (2) liberated (embrace sexual identity, reject religious identity), (3) embattled (embrace religious identity, reject sexual identity), and (4) disillusioned (uncertainty about both identities). We demonstrate that support from peers and (re)interpretations of official Church doctrine are key factors in the development and negotiation of sexual and religious identities. We conclude by discussing the implications of our research, including specific implications for religious higher education. |
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| ISSN: | 1759-8818 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociology of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/socrel/srx028 |