Undergraduate Honors Program, Malone University, 2025, Honors Thesis

This study aims to gain a better understanding of the experiences of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) Christians and their experiences within Protestant evangelical contexts. Throughout nine interviews, this study gained insight into the process by which participants formed their identity, supportive and unsupportive experiences within family systems and faith communities, and explored implications for both faith communities and relationships. This study notes the importance of policy transparency, creating inclusive spaces, using inclusive language, and advocating for LGB communities in a public manner—however that looks in one's specific faith context. This research highlights specific ways in which readers can support LGB people when they disclose their identity to individuals in their lives. Finally, for individuals and faith communities looking to create more hospitable spaces for LGB individuals, the results of this study point towards maintaining a posture of humility and open-mindedness as LGB individuals share their stories and their experiences within faith communities.

Committee: Elizabeth Patterson Roe (Committee Chair); Andrew Reynolds (Committee Member); Marcia Everett (Committee Member); Kathryn Huisinga (Other) Subjects: Families and Family Life; Glbt Studies; Personal Relationships; Religion; Social Research; Social Work; Spirituality

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), University of Findlay, 2016, Education

As individuals move through life, there are developed and identified areas referred to as social networks that provide support and assistance. It is through these social networks that identity formation occurs, these broad categories are highly influential in defining self-concept, which is developed through an affiliation (whether it be positive or negative) with the following groups: family, peers, education, spirituality, and the broader community/society. For those individuals that identify as Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual (LGB) there are challenges that exist in their development that are unique to them as compared to what the general population experiences. LGB individuals are an extremely vulnerable subset of the population, particularly given the degree of homophobia in our society. Adolescents who are struggling with issues of sexual orientation face incredible challenges and lack many of the fundamental support systems available to their heterosexual peers (Gonsiorek, 1988). All of these identified social networks of this developmental period lend themselves to the overall identity formation of each adolescent. A positive identity must integrate one's sexual identity into it (Baker, 2002). For LGB individuals who are struggling to identify, define, and make sense of feelings of attraction toward members of the same sex, adolescence may be a particularly challenging time in their lives. This qualitative study consisted of 18 participants that discussed their coming-out process in the context of supportive and non-supportive social networks. It explored the difference between the high school and college environments, identifying risk and protective factors that impacted this important milestone in their sexual identity development. Several themes were identified around the process of coming-out; these were fear, shift of social networks (high school to college), and search for community and acceptance. Throughout these identified areas there wa (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Michael Scoles Ed.D. (Committee Chair); Judith Wahrman Ph.D. (Committee Member); Gwynne Rife Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Academic Guidance Counseling; Behavioral Sciences; Families and Family Life; Fine Arts; Glbt Studies; Individual and Family Studies; Mental Health; Social Psychology; Social Research; Social Structure; Social Work