The family is an important social institution that plays a crucial role in shaping individuals' worldviews, values, and belief systems. It is therefore no surprise that family religiosity has been found to be associated with various attitudes towards homosexuality, including views about its acceptance, tolerance, support for rights, and willingness to disclose one's own same-sex orientation.
Recent research suggests that peer religiosity may also influence these attitudes, which opens up new directions for understanding how religious identities are formed and expressed in everyday life.
I will explore how family and peer religiosity interact to shape attitudes toward LGBT identity disclosure. Specifically, I will examine how religious family members can promote, facilitate, or prevent LGBT identity disclosure among their children, as well as how religious peers can pressure or encourage young people to disclose or conceal their sexual orientations. Throughout this analysis, I will draw upon empirical evidence from sociological studies and psychological experiments to illustrate how these intergenerational and interpersonal dynamics work.
Family Religiosity and Attitudes Towards Homosexuality
Before exploring the interaction between family and peer religiosity, it is necessary to consider how family religiosity shapes young people's attitudes toward homosexuality. Research shows that having highly religious parents is associated with more negative attitudes towards homosexuality, even when controlling for other factors such as political ideology, educational level, geographic region, and socioeconomic status (Bradshaw et al., 2015). This finding is consistent across a range of measures, including beliefs about whether homosexuality is wrong, whether homosexuals should have equal rights, and whether they deserve tolerance and acceptance (Frisby & Chu, 2004; Hunsberger, Gagnon, & Sullivan, 2016). In some cases, being raised by conservative Christians has been found to be particularly detrimental to positive attitudes towards gays and lesbians, due to the strong stigma against same-sex relationships in many Protestant denominations (Pattison, 2009).
Research also suggests that family religiosity is not always associated with less favorable views on LGBT issues.
Some studies find that having devoutly Christian parents can actually promote greater support for gay rights among their children (Goldberg & Crews, 2014), while others show that religious upbringing may encourage self-acceptance and disclosure among LGBT individuals who grew up within those faith communities (Crowe, 2018). These mixed results suggest that family religiosity alone does not determine attitudes towards sexual orientation - rather, it depends on how much young people are exposed to their families' religious values and practices, as well as how they interpret them.
Peer Religiosity and Attitudes Towards Homosexuality
In addition to family religiosity, peer religiosity can also play an important role in shaping attitudes towards LGBT identities. Young people who attend religious schools or participate in religious youth groups are more likely to have negative attitudes towards homosexuality than those who do not (Bradshaw et al., 2015; Crowe, 2018), which suggests that exposure to peers who share similar beliefs about sexuality can reinforce anti-gay prejudices. At the same time, however, being surrounded by non-heteronormative individuals has been found to be a key factor in helping LGBT adolescents come out (Hunter, 2017), suggesting that positive peer models of queerness can counteract negative messages from family members.
Interaction Between Family and Peer Religiosity
The interaction between family and peer religiosity is therefore complex and multifaceted. On one hand, having devoutly Christian parents and attending a conservative church may lead young people to feel greater pressure to conceal their true selves, especially if their friends and classmates hold similar views (Crowe, 2018).
Research suggests that some young people with highly religious family backgrounds may find support for their LGBT identity among their secular peers, while others may turn to liberal churches that affirm queerness as part of God's plan (Goldberg & Crews, 2014). In addition, studies indicate that having less traditional religious upbringings may allow young people to express themselves openly within families without fear of rejection or punishment (Frisby & Chu, 2004).
This article has explored how family and peer religiosity interact to shape attitudes towards LGBT identity disclosure. While there are many factors at play, the evidence suggests that both intergenerational and interpersonal dynamics can influence whether and how young people choose to disclose their sexual orientations. By understanding these processes, we can better promote acceptance and tolerance among all groups in society, regardless of their religious beliefs or affiliations.
In what ways do family and peer religiosity interact to influence attitudes toward LGBT identity disclosure?
Family members may pressure their children not to disclose their sexual orientation for fear of being ostracized by other religious families. The parents' religious beliefs may influence the child's decision on whether or not they choose to disclose their LGBT identity to friends. Some peers with similar religious backgrounds as their own may react negatively to someone coming out due to their shared values system.