Living the Dream: Religion in the (Re)Construction of Sexual Identity in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual New Zealanders
Issued Date: 22 Mar 2013
Abstract
Religion and sexuality have been historically uneasy siblings. This large study (n = 2269) examines the role of religion (or no religion) in the construction and living out of gay, lesbian or bisexual identity in Aotearoa New Zealand. The study confirmed that more women consider spirituality important than do men, but that there is significant movement away from Christianity to No Religion. Christian women attain milestone ages later, and demonstrate greater sexual involvement and attraction to men over their lifetimes, and have more children, than do No Religion respondents. Christian men also had longer opposite-sex relationships. Christians were more likely to value, expect and behave exclusively in relationships. Regardless of religiosity, women preferred marriage and men civil unions as the legal recognition of their relationships. The adoption of a life-paradigm by Christian women is considered.
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References
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Chou, W.-S. 2000. Tongzhi: Politics of Same-Sex Eroticism in Chinese Societies. New York: Haworth Press.
Elia, J. P. 2003. “Queering Relationships: Toward a Paradigmatic Shift,” Journal of Homosexuality, 45.2-4, 61–86.
Hammack, P. L. 2005. “The Life Course Development of Human Sexual Orientation: An Integrative Paradigm,” Human Development, 48.5, 267–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000086872
Henrickson, M. 2006. “Lavender Immigration to New Zealand: Comparative Descriptions of Overseas-born Sexual Minorities,” Social Work Review, 18.3, 69–78.
Henrickson, M. 2007a. “Lavender Faith: Religion and Spirituality in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual New Zealanders,” Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, 26.2, 63–80.
Henrickson, M. 2007b. “A Queer Kind of Faith: Religion and Spirituality and Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual New Zealanders,” Aotearoa Ethnic Network Journal, http://www.aen.org.nz/journal/2/2/index.html (accessed 10 September 2012).
Henrickson, M. 2009. "Sexuality, Religion and Authority: Towards Reframing Estrangement." Journal of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work, 28.1/2, 48–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15426430802643570
Henrickson, M., S. Neville, C. Jordan and S. Donaghey. 2007. “Lavender Islands: The New Zealand Study,” Journal of Homosexuality, 53.4, 223–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00918360802103514
Kirkman, A. M. 2001. “Ties that Bind: Recognising the Spiritual,” Journal of Lesbian Studies, 5.1/2, 211–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J155v05n01_14
Kitzinger, C., and S. Wilkinson. 1995. “Transitions from Heterosexuality to Lesbianism: The Discursive Production of Lesbian Identities,” Developmental Psychology, 31.1, 95–104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.31.1.95
Lease, S. H., S. G. Horne and N. Noffsinger-Frazier. 2005. “Affirming Faith Experiences and Psychological Health for Caucasian Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Individuals,” Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52.3, 378–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.52.3.378
Lee, K. G., and R. Busto. 1991. “When the Spirit Moves us,” Outlook, 14, 83–85.
Ministry of Social Development. 2005. The Social Report/ Te purongo oranga tangata 2005. Wellington, NZ: Author.
Murray, S. O. 2002. Pacific Homosexualities. San José, CA: Writers Club Press.
Pitts, M., A. Smith, A. Mitchell and S. Patel. 2006. Private Lives: A Report on the Health and Wellbeing of GLBTI Australians (No. 57). Melbourne: Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society, LaTrobe University.
Smith, B. L., and S. G. Horne. 2008. “What’s Faith Got to Do with It? The Role of Spirituality and Religion in Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Sexual Satisfaction,” Women and Therapy, 31.1, 73–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/02703140802145243
Stark, R. 2002. “Physiology and Faith: Addressing the 'Universal' Gender Difference in Religious Commitment,” Journal of the Scientific Study of Religion, 41.3, 495–507. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-5906.00133
Tan, P. P. 2005. “The Importance of Spirituality among Gay and Lesbian Individuals,” Journal of Homosexuality, 49.2, 135–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J082v49n02_08
Wink, P., L. Ciciolla, M. Dillon and A. Tracy. 2007. “Religiousness, Spiritual Seeking, and Personality: Findings from a Longitudinal Study,” Journal of Personality, 75.5, 1051–1070. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2007.00466.x
Yip, A. K. T. 2008. “Researching Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Christians and Muslims: Some Thematic Reflections,” Sociological Research Online, 13.1.
