Religion and spirituality among bisexual Black men in the USA
WILLIAM L JEFFRIES IV 1, BRIAN DODGE 2, THEO G M SANDFORT 3
PMCID: PMC2566748 NIHMSID: NIHMS69811 PMID: 18568870
The publisher’s version of this article is available at Cult Health Sex
Abstract
Traditionally, religion has been a major source of institutional support and well-being for Black people in the USA. However, when juxtaposed against sexuality, religion’s positive effect upon the lives of non-heterosexual individuals is questionable. Research suggests that non-heterosexuals often abandon structured religion for spirituality due to the homonegativity perpetuated through religious institutions. Although studies have examined religion and spirituality among gays and lesbians, few have examined their roles in the lives of bisexuals. In this study, we analyzed qualitative interviews from 28 bisexual Black men who resided in New York City. In addition to church attendance, participants expressed belonging to religious communities through activities such as music ministry. Despite rejection because of their bisexuality, some participants saw other religious individuals as being accepting of them. Others discussed the church as a place where non-heterosexuals interacted, often for meeting sexual partners. Participants evoked beliefs in God in coping with adverse life experiences; some linked faith to family and sexual responsibilities. Drawing upon relevant literature, we discuss the implications of religion and spirituality for the quality of life of bisexual Black men in the USA.
Keywords: Religion, spirituality, bisexuality, Black, USA
Introduction
Black churches have been pivotal to the existence of people of African descent in the USA. Throughout slavery, the Jim Crow Era and the Civil Rights Movement, they provided Black people with the social support necessary to cope with crippling racist ideologies that, at best, regarded them as second-class citizens (Frazier 1964, Mattis 2001, Collins 2004). Black churches’ influence permeates other social institutions as well as beliefs, attitudes and everyday practices of US Blacks (Frazier 1964, Collins 2004, Ward 2005). They attend church more frequently (Dawson et al. 1993, Ellison et al. 2000) and they engage in more affective religious behaviours, such as prayer, than other ethnic groups (Roof and McKinney 1987, Ellison 1993). Even Black persons who denounce Christianity often note religious imagery and ideology as important to their moral beliefs and practices (Dyson 2003, Ward 2005). Religious participation has been shown to increase life satisfaction (Ellison 1993) and personal empowerment (Mattis 2001) for US Blacks. It is also protective against morbidity, mortality (Ellison et al. 2000), mental health problems (Ellison and Gay 1990) and maladaptive coping with racial discrimination (Bierman 2006).
Churches and homonegativity
Although the historical importance of religion for Black persons is undeniable, the full transfer of its benefits to non-heterosexuals is contestable. Homonegativity – contempt for individuals expressing same-sex attractions – is apparent via vehement condemnation of non-heterosexuals by some Black religious institutions. While a few churches are openly affirming of non-heterosexual parishioners (Collins 2004, Ward 2005), intolerance of them is especially pronounced in most others. From pulpits, some Black ministers hurl condescending insults in their sermons to express disdain toward non-heterosexuals (Fullilove and Fullilove 1999; Ward 2005). While homonegativity is not unique to Black churches in the USA (Wagner et al. 1994, Sweasey 1997, Yip 1997, 1998, 1999, Ellingson et al. 2001, Oswald 2001), it has dire psychosocial consequences for non-heterosexual Blacks.
Because individuals reared in intolerant religious traditions sometimes internalise the homonegative views taught by them (Yip 1998), they often suffer feelings of worthlessness and depression (Wagner et al. 1994). Some scholars suggest that internalised homonegativity may lead to unsafe sex among non-heterosexual men (Williamson 2000, Huebner et al. 2002). Due to about half of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases among Black men resulting from engagement in sex with other men (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2007), homonegativity has prompted many churches to be silent about the HIV epidemic among Black Americans (Fullilove and Fullilove 1999). Some scholars, therefore, question the extent to which Black churches can be instrumental in preventing and responding positively to HIV, by which non-heterosexual Black men are disproportionately affected (Baker 1999, Ward 2005).
The importance of spirituality for non-heterosexual individuals
Because many non-heterosexuals have encountered condemnation from churches, they often esteem personal faith in God, or spirituality, higher than the Bible or their religious institutions (Ritter and O’Neill 1989, Sweasey 1997). Yip (2003) has shown that they also reinterpret church teachings in light of their own sexualities. Though non-heterosexuals often struggle with feelings of disapproval from God and churches (Oswald 2001), spirituality may maintain their formal connections to religious establishments (Ward 2005). For this reason, spirituality is key to the conceptualisation of religion in the lives of non-heterosexuals. Yip (2003, p. 139) provided a clear operational definition of spirituality:
[R]eligiosity, seems to embrace two significant components: the adherence to doctrines and beliefs, propagated by the religious institution; and the observance of rituals and practices, within a communal religious context. ‘Spirituality’, on the other hand, denotes a self-based internal journey of experience with the divine. It is about the relationship between the individual and her/his faith, not necessarily mediated through the church. It is personal and experiential.
Why focus on bisexual Black men?
Bisexual Black men may be unique in their religious and spiritual experiences. Unlike openly gay men, they often refrain from disclosing their same-sex attractions and behaviours (Dodge et al. in press) and few may identify as gay (Jeffries and Dodge, 2007). Bisexual men’s behaviours, therefore, often remain unknown within their religious communities. Given Black churches’ roles in championing heterosexual marriage, these men may regard church attendance as a way to secure female partners and, simultaneously, avoid homosexual stigma (Ward 2005). Consequently, bisexual Black men may not experience the condemnation that has caused many gays and lesbians to abandon organised religion. Spirituality also may have considerable prominence given the psychosocial struggles bisexuals have due to rejection from heterosexuals and homosexuals (Klein 1993, Herek 2002).
Because previous studies of religion and spirituality among non-heterosexuals have not distinguished bisexuals’ experiences (see Clark et al. 1989, Ritter and O’Neill 1989, Peterson 1992, Singer and Deschamps 1994, Sweasey 1997, Yip 1999, Rodriguez and Ouellette 2000, Crawford et al. 2002, Lemelle 2004), bisexual men have been considered indistinct from gay men. This erroneous assumption has reified gay/lesbian dominance and bisexual absence in religious studies of non-heterosexuals (for examples, see Oswald 2001, Lease and Shulman 2003, Lease et al. 2005, Ward 2005). Even so, because few studies have examined the religious experiences of non-heterosexual Blacks, we know little of bisexual Black men’s experiences with religion and spirituality. Yet, from accounts of bisexual Black men in popular non-fiction (King 2004, 2005), church attendance, integration within religious communities and faith appear to be important.
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