Queer and Religious

This religious queer person shares their unique experience of being queer without religious trauma. Despite facing challenges related to their identity, they found acceptance within the Episcopal Church, where they can express themselves and build meaningful connections. However, they acknowledged the pain and trauma many queer individuals face within religious institutions and expressed their desire to help them heal.

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Transcript

music  0:00  
[Andy strumming guitar & Baylee's voice singing: "Oh let's build, let's build a place we can go”]

Narrator  0:09  
Thank you for tuning into kin•dom campfire chats, a podcast of kin•dom community. This podcast features the voices of LGBTQIA+ persons, both youth participants and adult staff, who attended kin•dom camp in Texas in the summer of 2024. We asked the camp participants to think of a question that they wished someone would ask them about their life journey. With a friend, and in their own words, the campers tell their stories of struggle, love, support, and a community found. We invite you to listen with an open mind and an open heart.

music  0:50  
[Andy strumming guitar & Baylee's voice singing: "This is the place”]

speaker 1  0:56  
What is it like being a religious queer person without religious trauma?

speaker 2  1:01  
It's a very interesting experience, because I don't know a lot of people who were in both of those spaces and can relate to me. I have various queer friends who I can relate to with being queer, and I have various religious friends who are I can relate to around religion, but most of my queer friends have been hurt by the church in a way that makes it difficult to express my connection with religion around them. And a lot of people in the church aren't like aren't queer, but I personally have been lucky enough to have parents who are queer and have found a church that has space for me.

I'm in the Episcopal Church, which has is very accepting, has had like name changing ceremonies since the 70s, and is like a space for everyone, regardless of politics and identity. And so that has been an amazing space for me to just be myself and be loved by everyone around me. And so it's sometimes so difficult to like be around queer people who have been so hurt by that same church, because it just like it tears me apart because they can't experience that same love that I've felt, even though there should be space for them there. And I just like I allow them the space that they need, because I know that, like, it's so detrimental to have been hurt by the church and to try and be forced back into it, but it's so hard when I know that the church is like in its best space. The church is made to help heal people who have been through hurt like that, which makes it really difficult to just see people in pain and not be able to offer them something that I know has really helped me.

music  3:32  
[Andy strumming guitar & Baylee's voice singing: "Oh let's build”]

Baylee  3:40  
Hi y'all, it's Baylee. I'm the Creative Director of kin•dom community. I’d like to talk a little bit more about kin•dom camp and how you can get involved. kin•dom camp is an opportunity for LGBTQIA+ youth ages 12 to 17 to feel safe and free to show up as their full selves. Campers will have the chance to experience traditional camp activities and recreation, plus some specialized programming to incorporate LGBTQIA+ history and culture. More information can be found on our website kindomcommunity.org/camp. If you have any questions you can't find the answers to, you can email us at kindomcamp@gmail.com.

Thanks for listening to kin•dom campfire chats. We are proud to be a safe space for these campers, and we are even more proud of them for sharing their stories. We hope you'll keep gathering around the campfire with us as we celebrate all of the stories that make us this kin•dom community.