Religion and LGBTQ equality are often portrayed as incompatible. That’s why I was so happy to see people of several faith traditions take part in Blogging for LGBTQ Families Day, reminding us that faith and being LGBTQ (or loving and supporting someone who is LGBTQ) can, for many, go hand in hand, even if it may take some effort. Here are some of their posts.
- Believe Out Loud, which “empowers Christians to work for LGBT equality,” offers “4 Reasons This Christian Family Supports Marriage Equality” and “5 Tips for Talking to Your Conservative Friends and Family,” from Justin Lee, executive director of The Gay Christian Network. Latisha Di Venuto writes about her family, which includes “2 gay moms and 3 straight kids. 2 Whites, 2 Blacks and 1 Puerto Rican. 3 siblings from 3 different birth families. 5 different souls,” and Patricia Frazier writes about her journey to acceptance as a Christian after her daughter came out as a lesbian.
- Lesa offers another Christian perspective of how her faith helped her when her son came out as gay.
- Wendy Williams Montgomery, a Mormon mother, relates her own journey — personal and social — after her son came out as gay.
- Susan Cottrell of Freedhearts offers some general advice “To Christian Parents of Gay Children,” and shares a heartbreaking letter from a dad who did not accept his gay son, along with a letter from another mom who left her church to seek one more welcoming to her gay son. She also explains why her Christianity compels her to be an LGBTQ ally, and offers some encouraging advice to mothers who worry that they’ve erred in not trying to change their kids.
- And Sarah, who was raised Catholic and married a Mormon woman (with whom she is now attending a Methodist church), writes at Bloggity Bloggity Bloo about how their parents and extended families each reacted to their coming out, and the progress they have made together.
- Keshet, the organization for LGBTQ Jews, offers us a touching video about a teen coming out at his family’s Shabbat dinner. They also share the story of Sarah Richards, who married her wife once in Georgia (after her hometown rabbi flew in from Massachusetts), and again by the same rabbi in Massachusetts once it became legal there. And David Levy writes about “Life After Love: Cher and Jewish Mourning Rituals,” about how a shared love of the singer helped him cope after his mother’s death.
Not all of us choose to follow a faith, or to continue following the faith in which we were raised. For those who do, however, it can be comforting to know others have wrestled with these issues before.
