THE EFFECTS OF SEXUAL MINORITY STIGMA IN CATHOLIC SOCIAL CONTEXTS ON YOUNG GAY MEN
Date
2023-05
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Past work suggests that sexual minorities experience stigma in religious
environments, which in turn leads to adverse mental health outcomes. However, the
experiences of young sexual minority men in Catholic environments remains
understudied. To explore these experiences, ten participants who identified as gay men
between the ages of 18 and 25 in the United States were interviewed about their
experience with the Catholic Church, experience coming out, and any suggestions they
have for the Church or other young gay men with a similar Catholic background.
Interviews were coded following standard qualitative methods. When it came to the
family unit, some family members, especially grandparents, were more stigmatizing
and hateful than others. Participants’ experience in primary and secondary school was
highly stigmatizing. Instructors sent a variety of stigmatizing messages and peers
bullied many of the participants. Participants encountered stigma in college but to a
lesser extent, citing friends as a source of belonging. Every participant leaned away
from Catholicism as a result of their experience with the Church, and the majority of
participants currently identify as atheist or agnostic. Advice to the Church centered
around equity and inclusivity and advice towards young gay men centered around
seeking safe spaces free of homophobia and hate. Future studies should be directed
towards behavioral health interventions that target young gay men with a Catholic
background and ultimately, wide-scale changes are needed to remove stigma from the
Catholic Church entirely.