The coming out process of Catholic LGB individuals

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore and understand the coming out experience of Catholic Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) individuals. In order to conduct this study, the qualitative research approach was found to be the most suitable since it allows for in-depth exploration of the phenomenon. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight participants whose ages ranged from eighteen to twenty-eight. I recruited participants from different sources such as by contacting a local organization called Drachma, which welcomes and supports Catholic LGB persons (Drachma LGBTI, 2018), reaching out through social media, and by using the snowball method. Recruiting participants from different sources was important because I did not want to prejudice the findings in a way that would lead to participants disclosing homogenous perspectives, views, beliefs and experiences.

What emerged from this study is that all participants were brought up in a Catholic environment and, as children, they all participated actively in Church activities. Additionally, all participants identified as Catholic during their coming out experience. The study identifies various challenges Catholic LGB persons face, including sources of homophobia, be they coming from the family, one’s religious community or society. The religious community and the Catholic Church were viewed as two distinct elements by the participants, who may have made this distinction as they felt reluctant to label certain elements of the Church as homophobic.

The study explores how participants started developing a gay identity and how they managed to integrate this with their religious identity. Participants struggled in integrating two identities which somehow seemed to oppose each other and, additional to this struggle, was the reaction they experienced when they came out to others. The majority of the participants’ parents reacted negatively when their child came out to them. This seems to have impacted the participants’ life and their perception of themselves for a number of years.

The coming out experience of Catholic LGB persons was found to be very challenging on multiple levels. Participants experienced great mental stress which led to serious repercussions on their overall wellbeing, with half of the participants seeking professional help. Catholic bisexual participants seemed to have experienced greater mental stress as participants mentioned clinical depression, physical and verbal abuse and suicidal ideation. Other issues mentioned by participants include amongst other are sleeping problems, hair/ weight loss and obsessive-compulsive disorder. This highlights the severity of the situation and the need for more support within the society. This research identifies the need for more specialised services, greater awareness and better educational projects within society to support and promote acceptance and respect towards Catholic LGB persons.