This Master's thesis offers a space for the testimonies of LGBTQ+ Christians who live the seemingly incompatible realities and identities of being a Christian and LGBTQ+ person. In my research I was interested in the possible existence of Christian education and Christian community among LGBTQ+ Christians, the responses of the Christian and LGBTQ+ communities, the challenges and strategies in reconciling the two identities, the ways in which faith is practiced today, and the desired changes. In the theoretical part, I first show the interplay between Christianity and culture, which I continue with the Christian education as an entry into the Christian community. I then summarize the history of homosexuality from Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire to the early Middle Ages and its content in the Bible. I then go on to discuss the church's attitude towards LGBTQ+ people today and the relevance of research on LGBTQ+ Christians for social work, and conclude with a summary of the challenges of LGBTQ+ Christians from international research and their implications for social workers. The research is qualitative and explorative as it aimed to learn about the challenges of LGBTQ+ Christians and to explore the role of social work. It involved six interviewees who are members of the Roman Catholic Church, four of whom were gay, one transgender and one bisexual. The results of the analysis show that Christian education was more or less present in all the respondents, and that it almost always led to the existence of a Christian community, from which the respondents later moved away. Reasons for this include the politicization of the church and relocation, the period of the Family Code campaign, gay priests and the loss of credibility of the church, the discovery of sexual identity and the church's position on homosexuality and abortion. The analysis showed that some Christian families found it difficult to reframe their Christian beliefs through acceptance of their child's LGBTQ+ identity, with respondents reporting direct or subtle challenges to acceptance from parents, grandparents or other relatives. This was similar to responses from other believers in the wider Christian community. While church representatives responded with tacit support, acceptance with conditions of non-practicing sexuality, advice to hide sexual orientation and/or identity, and ignoring disclosure and hiding sexual orientation and/or identity. In addition to the Christian community, the LGBTQ+ community played an important role, all but one of the respondents were somehow part od the community. As with the Christian community, there was also a shift away from it. Prejudice towards LGBTQ+ Christians by the LGBTQ+ community was present as a reason for disengagement in half of the cases. Other reasons cited were loss of need for inclusion and homogeneity of the LGBTQ+ community, unsupportive psychosocial support, LGBTQ+ philosophy, and quarrels and non-cooperation between NGOs in the LGBTQ+ field. Challenges in combining sexual orientation and religious affiliation were identified as assumed stereotypes, the choice between sexual orientation and religious affiliation, fear of being excluded from the Christian and/or LGBTQ+ community, and the feeling of not belonging to either community. Interpretations of the Bible, exploration of both Christianity and other religions, drawing a line between church and religion, and having a support network of people have all been shown to be strategies for locating and combining the two identities. Today, religion is the mainstay of most respondents. They see room for improvement in the church's recognition of LGBTQ+ Christians and in the establishment of Christian LGBTQ+ organizations; they want inclusive and respectful churches, the possibility of church weddings, greater participation of LGBTQ+ people in Pride Parades, networking of key institutions, public support from social workers, understanding of the heterogeneity of LGBTQ+ people within NGOs, and an establishment group for LGBTQ+ Christians. For most, gathering within this group would be an opportunity to openly express their faith, to socialize, to share experiences and perspectives on faith, as well as to build fellowship and overcome prejudice. As suggestions for social work, I conclude with a greater emphasis on topics such as faith and religion and social work beyond heteronormativity within undergraduate and postgraduate education, strengthening understanding of intersectionality and training in cultural competency and advocacy, learning the appropriate language of the people we work with, the LGBTQ+ community and the church. In this, LGBTQ+ Christians should be our greatest guides, with whom we respectfully make contact and enter into working relationships. Social workers should also present a strong and public support for LGBTQ+ Christian activism.
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