Developing Pastoral Ministry Practices for LGBTQA+ Individuals in Traditional Evangelical Churches

Abstract

While there is a growing body of literature around LGBTQA+ people within faith communities, there is a notable scarcity of research that examines their religious and spiritual formation. This has left a significant gap in which LGBTQA+ people are misunderstood and subsequently treated with inherent suspicion within church contexts. This is particularly true within Evangelical traditions where narrower definitions of orthodoxy are more apparent and hierarchical structures maintain power imbalances. This qualitative research fills a portion of that literature gap, asking ‘what influences do pastoral ministry practices have on the religious and spiritual experiences of LGBTQA+ Christians within Evangelical traditions?’ Weaving together the stories of queer people from a variety of faith communities across Australia, this thesis explores the complexities of identity development, religious trauma, and the task of creating safes spaces in which LGBTQA+ people of faith can find healing. Twenty-four participants sourced from a combination of convenience and purposive sampling took part in semi-structured interviews which were analysed in dialogue with themes emerging from extant literature. Participants all identified as LGBTQA+ and had spent at least 2 years in an Evangelical setting. Two major streams of identity development were found to warrant extended analysis – spiritual or religious identity development, and gender or sexuality identity development. The two were linked in intricate and complex ways, with participants universally experiencing cognitive dissonance around the perceived collision of their two identities. This was followed by a complex process of reconciling competing identity claims. The vast majority (all but two) felt a strong desire to retain a faith journey and navigated the theological path toward queer affirmation or denial, often without the support of, and against the wishes of their religious communities. In this process, narratives of spiritual trauma provided rich insight into the lived experiences of pastoral ministry practices which had far reaching impact. Understanding power dynamics within Evangelical settings became key to issues around voice, autonomy, and acceptance. Spiritual trauma was found to impact participants’ mental health, community engagement, understanding of the divine, and sense of self. In seeking to conceptualise the overall functioning of the individual, it became evident that spiritual health is a fundamental factor which needed to be addressed. Despite these experiences of trauma, many participants also spoke of church as a place of healing, or potential healing. Participants recounted rich instances of affirmation and being listened to which provided hope of change and solace. Such experiences provided a framework for navigating a path forward in which LGBTQA+ individuals can find a place of belonging in their chosen faith communities.