“The Tables Are Turning”: The Evangelical Defense of Anti-LGBTQ+ Religious Liberty

This article extends research on how dominant groups use the rhetoric of marginality to defend and reinforce their control of the public sphere. We conducted interviews with evangelical churchgoers in Mississippi to understand the evangelical support for religious accommodations that privilege conse...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: McDowell, Amy (Author)
Contributors: Ward, Pace T.
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: 2023
In: Sociology of religion
Year: 2023, Volume: 84, Issue: 4, Pages: 406-425
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Mississippi / Southern Baptist Convention / New Christian Right / LGBT / Same-sex marriage / Discrimination / Religious freedom / History 2016-2019
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
CG Christianity and Politics
CH Christianity and Society
KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history
KBQ North America
KDG Free church
NCC Social ethics
NCD Political ethics
NCF Sexual ethics
TK Recent history
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:This article extends research on how dominant groups use the rhetoric of marginality to defend and reinforce their control of the public sphere. We conducted interviews with evangelical churchgoers in Mississippi to understand the evangelical support for religious accommodations that privilege conservative Christian beliefs about sex, gender, and marriage. We found that rather than cite scripture about homosexuality or Godly marriage, churchgoers instead told stories about Christian maltreatment and censorship to defend the idea that LGBTQ+ individuals should stay in the closet or find alternatives to the people and places that will refuse service to them. Our findings shed critical light on how evangelical churchgoers accommodate Christian nationalism—or the ideological movement to put Christians back in charge of America—in a context where conservative Christians already enjoy unmatched social and political advantages.
ISSN:1759-8818
Contains:Enthalten in: Sociology of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1093/socrel/srad007