Social Science – Sociology Assignment #3

Assignment #3: Qualitative research. (1) Which methodological technique(s) did Winder choose for studying his population? Why do you think he chose this approach over others we’ve discussed thus far? (2) Which findings did you find to be most interesting or thought-provoking? Why? How does the methodological approach assist in revealing these findings?

Please write 2-3 paragraphs with 6-7 sentences and address the questions above. DO NOT QUOTE. Please paraphrase and write your responses IN YOUR OWN WORDS.

BShouting it Out^: Religion and the Development of Black
Gay Identities

Terrell J. A. Winder1

Published online: 13 October 2015
# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015

Abstract Using an intersectional framework, this paper analyzes the behavioral and interac-
tional responses to anti-gay religious teachings among young Black gay men. Drawing on 26
semi-structured interviews and 18 months of ethnographic observation data, I highlight the role
non-religious youth development organizations play in the negotiation of contradictory reli-
gious and sexual identities among young Black gay men. My findings illuminate new patterns
in the understanding of personal narrative reconciliation while simultaneously highlighting new
directions for research in the roles that youth-led spaces play in socialization practices. While
previous research on religion and sexuality has relied primarily on interview data, this study
uses ethnographic data to supplement interviews with youth to further elucidate the community
building and collective negotiations of religious teachings. Ultimately, I argue that these young
Black gay men work collaboratively to repurpose religious messaging in order to justify their
sexualities; to reinforce positive behaviors and explain everyday occurrences with religious
exclamations (e.g., call and response, shouting); and to create new religious communities.

Keywords Sexuality . Religion . Identity development . Community . Organizations

Many churches demonize a lot of people…You need a spiritual discernment to know
what church to go to and where you get your lessons from. —Lawrence

I heard this at church on Sunday: You can’t prevent a snake from biting you, but you can
stop the venom from getting into your system —Henry

Many Black gay men will be exposed to religious messages about sexuality. The opening
quotes highlight the critical tensions between on the one hand sexual and racial self-identification
and on the other hand religious teachings experienced by young Black gay men. Lawrence1

Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394
DOI 10.1007/s11133-015-9316-1

1All names of people and places have been changed to maintain participant confidentiality.

* Terrell J. A. Winder
tjwinder@ucla.edu

1 University of California, Los Angeles, Sociology, 264 Haines Hall, 375 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles,
CA 90095, USA

illuminates the deeply felt dilemma to negotiate negative messages from church communities
about sexuality while still practicing his faith. Henry, in contrast, appropriates a religious lesson
from a sermon he has heard in church to counter anti-gay ideas and messages. These two quotes
highlight the role of religion, including both the rampant, negative religious-based messages and
the more positive aspects of belonging to a religious community, in the socialization of young
Black gay men. Drawing upon observations of religiosity in a secular organization catering to
Black gay men, this article addresses how these young men mitigate negative experiences with
religious institutions and teachings to make sense of their presumed incompatible religious and
sexual identities.

Youth-serving organizations have played constructive roles in assisting LGBT youth and
young adults to explore their identities (Boxer 1996). However, we know less about how
young Black gay men in an organizational setting negotiate religious messages of racial and
sexual identity. Drawing on previous work that has identified the delegitimization of anti-gay
religious teachers (Pitt 2010) and the importance of personal religious spirituality for youth
(Kubicek et al. 2009), I analyze the role of participation in youth development organizations in
helping youth to 1) receive authoritative messages on religious teachings and 2) work
collectively to reclaim and repurpose religious messaging. Furthermore, by combining both
individual religious experiences with collective faith expressions, this analysis contributes to
the knowledge of lived religion in everyday life.

Specifically, this article will show how young Black gay men in one community-based
organization 1) appropriate religious teachings to explain hardships and homophobia, 2)
negotiate a religious and sexual identity following negative religious messages throughout
childhood related to homosexuality, and 3) use the organizational space to recharge and
recreate a sense of religious community. Using participant observation, the study illuminates
strategies that youth employ within the non-religious organizational space to internalize gay-
friendly religious messages deliverers of those messages. Additionally, I analyze the ways that
organizations can intentionally and unintentionally be structured to imitate religious worship
services— in particular, Black church related practices, such as, shouting2 and call and
response.3 Taken together, the analysis suggests that while religious dogma can transmit
damaging homophobic lessons that youth struggle with throughout young adulthood, aspects
of religious teachings and communities can be used within LGBT organizations, both struc-
turally and substantively, to aid youth as they face adversity and transition to adulthood.

Reconciling Contradictory Religious and Sexual Identities

Churches and religious institutions have been major political, social, and moral pillars of Black
communities (see Morris 1986), but they have also been associated with homophobia. While
some studies have documented the health benefits of religiosity (Foster et al. 2011; Koenig
et al. 1998; Oxman et al. 1995; Pardini et al. 2000), others have documented the many ways
that anti-gay theology has negatively affected the church’s response to HIV/AIDS,

2 Shouting is a religious practice often found within Black churches that as been linked to African dances. In
contemporary Black Christian churches, this dance is often linked to the Holy Spirit and one being taken over
with the spirit, to the point joyous movement (see Holmes 2004).
3 Call and response is associated with the Black church and is a collective experience where the pastor or
preacher is encouraged and his/her message reinforced through the vocal expressions of the congregants (see
Costen 2010).

376 Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394

homosexual behaviors, and the development of LGBT identities (Alder et al. 2007; Fullilove
and Fullilove 1999; Smith et al. 2005; Ward 2005). Consequently, scholars have found mixed
evidence of the role of religion among young Black gay men: Generally, belonging to a
religious community may be beneficial, but blatant homophobia can prove quite harmful
(Kubicek et al. 2009).

Research on the levels of homophobia within varying ethnic communities has been
inconclusive. On the one hand, high levels of religiosity and religious practice among
Blacks have been positively associated with high levels of disapproval for homosexuality
(Glick and Golden 2010; Lewis 2003; Negy and Eisenman 2005). Given the strong historical
ties of the Black community to religious institutions, researchers have argued that Blacks are
more likely to be exposed to negative attitudes about their sexualities on a more consistent
basis (Barnes and Meyer 2012). Negative religious teachings may be more problematic,
because LGBT people of color are more likely to reside within communities of color rather
than predominately white gay enclaves (Cantu 2009; Moore 2010b; Ocampo 2012), perhaps
contributing to the amounts of racially-based homophobia to which they are exposed. That is
not to suggest that predominately Black religious environments are more homophobic than
others, but rather that the importance of religion within the Black community would subject its
members to more instances of anti-gay sentiments, homophobic teachings, or even openly
derogatory remarks. Given the contentious relationship between homosexuality and the Black
church, it is important to examine the mechanisms youth employ to combat negative religious-
based criticisms as they transition to adulthood.

At the same time, studies that have focused on Black gay men, have highlighted the many
ways that a sense of religious community and involvement with church activities, social
gatherings, and services can be beneficial to the psychosocial development of LGBT peoples
(Pitt 2010; Walker and Longmire-Avital 2013). Much of the research that has examined the
ways that LGBT people who are also religious has, understandably, identified how they might
negotiate these identities within religiously centered organizations and churches (Fuist et al.
2012; O’Brien 2004; Pitt 2010; Rodriguez and Ouellette 2000; Thumma 1991).

Considering the central role that the church plays in the Black community, we may expect
that religious culture and teachings will play a role in the socialization of young Black gay
men, even in non-religious contexts. For instance, participation in religious communities may
play a role in assisting Black gay men as they deal with everyday challenges related to HIV,
while still transmitting negative views of homosexual behavior (Foster et al. 2011). These
impacts can be seen in the case of Los Angeles County, where, following a positive diagnosis
of HIV, African-American MSM (men who have sex with men) are the group least likely to be
linked to care within three months and the group least likely to reach viral suppression
(Frye 2014). Research has suggested that LGBT affirming churches in Los Angeles,
specifically, have often provided a safe space for those coping with the effects of HIV infection
(Leong 2006).

In the sociology of religion the concept of Blived religion^ has been advanced to study and
understand individual expressions, practices, and beliefs that are incorporated into everyday
activities (McGuire 2008; Talvacchia et al. 2014). As articulated by McGuire (2008, 16), BThe
focus on individual religion necessitates examining not only people’s beliefs, religious ideas,
and moral values (i.e., cognitive aspects of individual religion) but also, and more important,
their everyday spiritual practices, involving their bodily and emotional, as well as religious,
experiences, and expressions.^ While this focus on the individual religious experience indi-
cates a shift away from formal worship, McGuire (2008) also asserts the role of collectively

Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394 377

derived and constructed religious experiences, realities, and worlds. The focus on lived
religion illuminates a way that religious practices can be used to justify and make sense of
everyday challenges and setbacks among the lives of the young adults in this study.

Previous research that has considered the religious practices of Black gay males has
identified the multiple ways by which they respond to religious based stigmatization. Relying
on Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance, Pitt (2010) observed that a primary method of
combating the negative messages that come from religious authority among Black gaymen is to
discredit or delegitimize the deliverer of that message. He argues that given the likelihood that
Black gay men remain strongly connected to the Black community, they are more likely to
experience these poignantly anti-gay moments in a negative way (Pitt 2010). Likewise,
Kubicek et al. (2009, 15) found that among young Black men who have sex with men, positive
religious messages were typically incorporated into a Bpersonal or individual relationship with a
higher power,^while negative religious messages were either Breframed or rejected^ over time.
Shallenberger (1996) found similar tendencies to adopt individualistic spiritual practices among
a population of primary white lesbians and gay men. These studies, however, do not explain
why or how young Black gay men come to internally hold and publicly display Black gay
identities to others in their social worlds. By examining the individual lived religion practices of
young Black gay men further, we can elucidate the pathways to claim a Black gay identity
within broader hostile external environments. My research seeks to identify how exactly young
adults in Los Angeles are able to repurpose and reclaim a religious theology and practice all
their ownwithin an organizational space dedicated to encouraging the successful coalescence of
their identities: religious, sexual, racial, and otherwise.

Theoretical Frameworks

Intersectionality provides a practical framework for analyzing the marginalization and self-
identification development of young Black gay men. Advanced by legal scholar Kimberle
Crenshaw (1991), intersectionality was employed to assess the politics and interconnectivity of
racism and sexism among women of color. Other research rooted in Black Feminist theory has
advocated for the use of intersectionality as a framework that addresses the multiplicative
impacts of race, gender and sexuality (among others) on the individual (Collins 2000;
Crenshaw 1991; Hancock 2007; Moore 2010a, 2012). Its analysis centers on the systemic
institutions of oppression that come to bear on life trajectories by exploring experiences of
marginalization and subjugation of multiple minority identities.

Due to dual systems of oppression that work to stigmatize homosexuality and perpetuate
racism to which Black same-sex individuals are subjected, the multiplicative effects of these
minority identifications have rendered Black LGBT peoples outcasts within both the Black
community and the mainstream white gay community (Han 2007). Manalansan and Martin
(1996) have characterized these experiences as those of the Bdouble minority,^ or those who
identify as both a racial and a sexual minority. By understanding these links between multiple
systems of oppression, the cumulative matrices of sexism, classism, racism, and heterosexism can
be illuminated. As Baca Zinn and Dill (1996, 326) explain, BThe idea of a matrix is that several
fundamental systemsworkwith and through each other. People experience race, class, gender, and
sexuality differently depending upon their social location in the structures of race, class, gender,
and sexuality.^ Intersectionality therefore provides a practical framework to further understand the
unique experiences of gay Black youth as they grapple with homophobia and heterosexism.

378 Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394

In order to further understand the intersection of multiple identities in this study, it is useful
to look at identity development theories. Contemporary research on identity development and
conceptualization of self considers the individual as Ba storyteller who draws upon the images,
plots, characters, and themes in the socio-cultural world to author a life^ (McAdams and Olson
2010, 10). Understanding the developing person as a continual author who is working to
narrate a connected life story is important to youth who are working to create innate
conceptualizations of self that rationalize current experiences, especially for stigmatized
gay youth. Laumann et al. (1994, 291) write, BDevelopment of self-identification as
homosexual or gay is a psychologically and social complex state, something which, in
this society is achieved only over time, often with considerable personal struggle and
self-doubt, not to mention social discomfort.^ In grasping these different social aspects
of identity construction and narrative building, religion and religious beliefs may play a
major role (Yip 2003).

Intersectional theories have been used to understand the socialization of adult racial and
sexual minorities. These studies examining Black gay male identity (Crichlow 2004;
Hawkeswood 1996; Hunter 2010; Icard 1986) have highlighted how race, sexuality, and
religion tend to shape and inform the proclaimed identities of Black gay men. Icard (1986)
highlights the ways that Black men who are dealing with conflicting sentiments concerning
their sexual identities can either become Bgay Black men^ or BBlack gay men^ by electing to
place precedence on either their racial or sexual identities. Furthermore, sociological studies by
both Hawkeswood (1996) and Hunter (2010) emphasize the ways in which Black gay men
understand their gay identities. They argue that, while many works consider that either race or
sexuality must dominate as a primary identifier, for many cases, Black gay men articulate these
aspects of self as equal and inextricable (see Bowleg 2008).

Employing an intersectionality framework allows this project to uncover the processes that
influence the specific social location of these sexual and racial minority young men. By
understanding the strategies that young Black gay men employ in response to particularly
homophobic experiences, this project elucidates the ways that youth are trained to respond to
these homophobic attitudes by their peers. The current study builds on previous research by
examining the role of non-religious youth development organizations in the negotiation of
contradictory religious and sexual identities among Black gay young men as lived religion.

Data Collection, Setting, and Analysis

This study draws on ethnographic and interview data that was collected at a Los Angeles
community based HIV prevention and treatment organization, UpLiftLA, over an 18-month
period. I conducted 26 semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Each interview lasted between 30
and 120 minutes and covered four major themes: racial identity development, sexual identity
development, gender identity development, and organizational involvement. All respondents
ranged in age from 18–31 and the age of the average respondent was 24. I also collected
ethnographic data at weekly meetings over an 18-month period. While initially the young men
were wary of my presence as a Bresearcher^ within the space, my identity as a young Black
gay man and my regular participation in the weekly discussions facilitated recruitment of the
young men into the study. After a few weeks of my consistent attendance at weekly meetings,
the young men’s fear that I would Bjust use them for research^ was dispelled. They began to
feel more comfortable with my presence and participating in my project, eventually

Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394 379

incorporating me into the group as an insider. My research expanded from collecting ethno-
graphic fieldnotes at weekly meetings, to offsite events (i.e., educational presentations,
conferences, and balls),4 and informal social gatherings (i.e., clubs, birthday parties, brunch
gatherings and dinners). The framing of these young men as Btransitional youth^ by the
organization is distinct as they are considered to be entering a new phase of maturation,
Bemerging adulthood^ (Arnett 2007). Understanding this population as emerging adults, we
can more readily identify the pedagogical nature of the space as a place to Bwork out^ the
conciliation of seemingly disparate identities.

UpLiftLA, a non-profit organization founded in 1992, houses a youth-driven leadership and
health-education program that services primarily young Black gay men. It is located in an
inconspicuous building in the downtown area of Los Angeles. Focused on reaching young
people aged 14–29, the organization has been particularly instrumental in working with the
local gay House/Ballroom Community and Latino party crews, leading to a significant
presence of young Black men within the space. To the passerby, it would appear to be just a
common warehouse, but upon entering one finds a staircase leading to a suite of offices
housing the youth organization. The only marker on the door is a small sign advertising the
organization’s name.

Young men travel from all across Los Angeles County (and sometimes neighboring
counties) to this organization for their weekly leadership meetings and HIV testing services.
Young men who arrive early stay in the room next to the main meeting space where they share
food, exchange the latest gossip, and enjoy a little television. As the time draws near for the
meeting to begin, the participants transition into the main room where chairs have been
organized in a circle.

These weekly leadership meetings cover topics such as HIV/STD prevention,
dealing with Bthe cards^ dealt in life, establishing positive gay relationships, and
sexual roles. In addition to these leadership meetings, UpLiftLA offers HIV/AIDS preven-
tion services, health education, STI testing, and individual counseling. Given that identifying
and finding LGBT communities of color can be difficult (Moore 2006, 2010a, b, 2011), I
selected the organization UpLiftLA because they were well-known among the Black
gay community, targeted the population that I sought to find, and would provide a
consistent sample over time.

Over the course of my time at UpLiftLA, I observed 125 different gay youth of color
(almost exclusively Black) at the weekly leadership meetings. Almost 70 % of the young men
only attended between one and three meetings, which limited my ability to follow-up for one-
on-one interviews with the entire sample. Ultimately, I conducted 26 in-depth interviews
with self-identified gay, bisexual, and pansexual Black young men. At any given point
one might move to another state, find themselves coping with homelessness, or
become scarcely seen following unemployment which made it even more challenging
to locate potential interview respondents. Of those I interviewed, 56 % were
employed, 26 % were fulltime students, and the remaining 18 % were unemployed.
While my interview approach resulted in a non-representative sample of the group, by
combining interview responses and ethnographic observation I was able to record how
people talk about spirituality and religion on an individual level, as well as observe their
behaviors and actions within a larger group context.

4 Associated with the LGBT African American House/Ballroom community, balls are a form of competitive
performances where Bhouses^ and individuals compete in a variety of categories (see Bailey 2013).

380 Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394

The majority of all respondents identified as primarily Black or African-American (n=24/26)
and preferred masculine descriptors (i.e., male, man, he, his, etc.) (n=25/26). As part of the study
requirements, all interviewed participants identified with being members of a larger Black
community via their geospatial locations and by participating in social circles dominated with
other Black-identified young adults. Seventy-eight percent of respondents self-identified as
either gay or homosexual, while the other 22 % self-identified as either bisexual or pansexual.
Throughout this article, I use gay as an all-encompassing term that includes those identifying as
pansexual or bisexual as these youth frequently included themselves as part of a BBlack gay
community.^ The majority of respondents were residents of California at the time of the
interview and almost 80 % are originally from Los Angeles (n=20). Interviews were conducted
in person for 24 members residing in Los Angeles at their choice of location (e.g., respondent’s
home, local café, public park, etc.), and for two respondents living out of state interviews were
conducted via Skype video call. All names and identifying characteristics have been changed to
protect participant privacy and confidentiality.

I organized and analyzed ethnographic fieldnotes and interview data through a process of
abductive analysis that involved closely analyzing primary data in light of relevant theoretical
literatures (Timmermans and Tavory 2012). In this study, the relevant literatures included
sexual socialization and coming-of-age studies, sexual identity formation, intersectionality,
Black attitudes towards homosexuality, and the role of institutions in identity formation. In
light of these literatures, specific occurrences in in-depth interviews and ethnographic obser-
vations stood out. The analysis focused on instances when youth instructed others on how to
perceive their racial and sexual identities through religious teachings; specific references to
negative words including sin, hell, and damnation; and religious exclamations or expressions
such as shouting, BHallelujah,^ and BYes God!^ I grouped all such instances together in
separate documents and examined for variation and common factors through processes of
coding and memo writing. I then reconstituted the resulting analysis based on how youth
viewed their own sexuality and how group interactions sanctioned and valued particular
displays and manifestations of being gay Black men. Once an elementary set of analytical
themes arose, I continued data gathering aimed at finding negative cases. I coded ethnographic
observation data separately line by line with emerging themes that were related to interview
data. I distinguish interview and ethnographic data by using Brespondents^ or BR^ for
interview data and Bfieldnote excerpts^ for ethnographic observations.

Sinning Without Reconciliation

In light of a majority view among Christian religious communities within the United States
that homosexuality is deviant, youth raised in church-going communities and families are
frequently subjected to anti-gay messaging from an early age. Such exposures lead to varied
and tenuous relationships among gay youth with Christian communities (Talvacchia et al.
2014). My findings reveal deeply rooted religious and sexuality conflicts among many of the
respondents. More than half of respondents (15/26) expressed that family, friends, and peers
had negative responses to homosexuality. In each interview, respondents (R) were asked to
describe the messages that they had received about identifying as gay, bisexual or pansexual.
Some of the words used to describe their sexualities included: Babomination^ (R3, R25, R4,
R21, R16); Ba sin^ (R3, R8, R12, R19, R25, R2); B[all gays are] going to hell^ (R8, R17, R25,
R21, R20, R13, R11);Bmorally wrong^ or Bimmoral^ (R25, R21, R15, R13); Bagainst God^

Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394 381

(R16); B[should be] prayed away^ (R3); Bdamnation^ (R17); B[gay is] bad in the Bible^ (R24);
and Bagainst God^ (R16). These responses highlight the deeply rooted negativity of religious
teachings to which these young Black gay men have been exposed.

Gay Identities and Church Communities

What do such negative messages mean for a Black gay man coming of age? Two respondents
provide concrete examples of how these interactions have shaped their identities. Gary was a
26-year-old preacher’s son who spoke poignantly about his childhood experiences and
realization that he was gay:

This is going to sound so cliché, but I always knew I was different. And I remember
learning about homosexuality in church and always being very interested because I grew
up in the church and because my dad’s a pastor. So, always being very interested in
homosexuality, I would always look up stuff about it in the Bible. So even though I
probably didn’t identify as gay until like college, I had crushes on boys in high school;
but, I didn’t realize that’s what it was at the time.

From this example, it is clear that Gary’s early church experiences sparked an interest in his
own sexuality that went unrealized until college. It is well known that people who are in deeply
religious communities, where homosexuality is discouraged, have harder times accepting their
own homosexual identities (Buchanan et al. 2001; Clarke et al. 1989; Wagner et al. 1994).
Gary noted that the Bible was his point of reference in understanding homosexuality. While
some LGBT people have come to interpret religious texts in ways that validate their sexualities
(Yip 2005), using the Bible as a guide to understanding sexuality, especially homosexuality,
proved discouraging in Gary’s case. Additionally, being the son of a preacher heightened the
conflicting interactions of religion, race, and sexuality. Even with his own interest in Blooking
up^ homosexuality within the Bible, this did not help him to recognize these feelings or
orientations within himself as Bcrushes.^ As he noted in the longer interview, Gary
received specific messaging that equated homosexuality with Bsin,^ Babomination,^
and being simply Bmorally wrong,^ as he matured within a Christian church environment.
He told me the story of having found the obituary of a gay uncle and the subsequent
conversation with his mother:

I was asking my mom about how he died and he was gay. There was something around
[his sexuality] and he was murdered. I think it had something to do with him being gay
and very flamboyant— that kind of stuff. So I asked her does that mean he’s in hell, and
she said yes. So those were the things, the very early messages I got and in many ways
still continue to get.

Illuminated in this passage are the major ways that being gay and flamboyant are seen as
reprehensible. Gary’s mother explained that his uncle was murdered because he was gay and
flamboyantly expressed his sexuality. Instead of condemning the act of violence against a
family member, his mother extended judgment on the victim by suggesting his eternal
damnation in hell.

These early experiences tended to be particularly derogatory for these young men who
recalled that others and they, themselves, were often condemned to hell. One interview
respondent, Rahsaan, had very strong memories of the negative messages that he had received
growing up. A 21-year-old bisexual man, Rahsaan invited me into his home and rehashed

382 Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394

some of the disparaging messaging. At the end of a small cul-de-sac where he lived alone in a
modest sized apartment he told me:

Well [being] Black and bisexual the first message that I received was that I’m going to
hell, it was a sin and it was a choice I made on my own. My parents really didn’t
approve. Well they definitely didn’t approve of any homosexuality at all. The message I
got after that would be that any gay man had HIVand that they were sick or disgusting.
That was pretty much the first two messages that I got about that.

Rahsaan, much like Gary, emphasizes that his sexuality was viewed not only as a sin or
condemnation to hell, but also as Bdisgusting^ and a pathway to disease. From his response, it
is evident that the messages Rahsaan received regarding homosexuality were not only
disapproving, but also associated homosexuals with being diseased and morally compromised.
The connection between homosexuality and disease has been longstanding. Rahsaan’s family
drew heavily on popular discourse about homosexuality as a disease, which is often
rooted in biblical teachings, biological histories, and psychological assessments of
human sexuality. While homosexuality was officially removed from the Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association in the early 1970s, the
emergence of HIV in the subsequent decade effectively re-categorized homosexuality
as not just a disease but as a Bdeath sentence^ (Colvin 2011). As HIV/AIDS was first
known as Gay Related Immune Deficiency, or GRID, equating homosexuality and
disease has become inescapable in recent history (Altman 1982). The association of
gay identities with HIVand disease further stigmatize gay identities and complicates religious
identities.

The experiences of Gary and Rahsaan, coupled with the other widely shared religiously
based anti-gay lessons among the youth, demonstrate the shared individual experiences that
create the need for a space where these young men can learn and practice their religions in
order to make sense of their everyday lives. In the following sections, I turn to participant
observation data of the interactions that have occurred within UpLiftLA, where the young men
come to reconcile some of these negative messages, repurpose religious teachings, and practice
religious worship as a group.

The Recharge: Structural Parallels in the Development Space

While the young men certainly struggle with the anti-gay messages they are receiving from
religious clergy, they still place value on the emotional and communal aspects of the religious
experience. Sociologist Timothy J. Nelson has explored the religious service as an Bemotional
worship.^ In particular, his 1996 work on African-American worship services examined how
these spiritual services follow an emotional order (Nelson 1996). In spite of sending anti-gay
messages to LGBT youth, religious institutions frequently awaken a thirst for continued
personal spirituality and the security of a moral community (Foster et al. 2011). While the
young men found themselves at odds with anti-gay religious messages, they still searched for a
communal environment that echoed the collective religious spirituality of the church. These
aspects of religious institutions may spillover to other social spaces to help these young men
cope and explain varying experiences throughout their life trajectories. This section explores
these individual expressions of religious worship and aspects of religious collectivity within
the non-religious organization.

Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394 383

The space of UpLiftLA is a secular site for the youth to come and discuss how to negotiate
the social, political, and institutional challenges in their lives that arise with negotiating
seemingly incompatible racial and sexual identities. On numerous occasions, the young men
of UpLiftLA evoked behaviors and traditions that are clearly rooted in experiences within
religious environments. Based on the clearly negative experiences and language that many
were exposed to from a young age, we might expect that they would reject religious affiliations
and associations. However, these young men tend to use the weekly meetings as an opportu-
nity to create religious and spiritual spaces. The young men that frequent UpLiftLA
repurposed the experience from religious environments and worked to maintain aspects of
their religious communities that they found favorable.

One particular instance of religious creation was how the participants used the entire space
and meeting time as an emotional outlet and worship space. These young Black gay men
treated the space like a sanctuary, albeit not a religious one, and they imbued the space with
religious emphasis. Often I heard about the reverence the young men held for the space as I
gave them a ride home or to the nearest train station. During one such ride, Darrius spoke to
me about the importance of UpLiftLA to his weekly progress in saying, BI hate missing the
meetings. Not to be blasphemous, but it’s like church. I feel energized when I leave.^
Comments such as this, about UpLiftLA, highlighted the importance of the space that it plays
in his weekly life. Similar to a church experience, UpLiftLA meetings were energizing for
Darrius. Perhaps this is because the weekly meetings structurally, behaviorally, and
thematically mirror church services. Meetings are held at the same time every week,
the young men come together to learn how to make sense of their lives, and they
learn how to navigate social challenges. Other participants echoed Darrius’s sentiments
about the Benergizing^ impact of the weekly meetings. Take this interaction between
Avery and Torian, for example:

Avery: Yes, I go to church and I tithe, but I can still have a drink and have a sip and see.
I need to pour more into myself. Coming to the groups, we’re learning to pour into
ourselves, and starting to add to ourselves first. Coming to the group is like coming to
the recharge. Each time you come in here there’s no bias, malice, or bullshit; it’s about
being with family and being yourself and growing.
Torian: Like church!

In this conversation there are many elements that solidify UpLiftLA meetings as a place to
invite growth and energize and Brecharge^ oneself, which assisted the attendees in dealing
with their own life challenges. These aspects of the meeting means that it serves a purpose
similar to that of church for these young men— here they can use the space to prepare
themselves for the world outside, much like a Sunday service. Additionally, Avery notes that
coming to the meetings is like being with family and being able to B[be] yourself,^ which
signals that what is valued most is also the camaraderie and community created by the
organization. While the role of the weekly meetings is clear in this exchange, Avery also
notes that he continues to attend church and tithe. This suggests that the meetings do not fully
replace the role of church, but rather that these sessions are supplementary religious spaces.

The significance of the weekly meetings is clear for these young men and they encourage
one another— again, much like the ways Black churches work— to spread the word about the
services and opportunities offered at UpLiftLA. They are encouraged to become organiza-
tional evangelists. One particular week, the young men were discussing their coming-out
stories and the experiences they had with family and close friends. After the two-hour

384 Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394

conversation with all of the guys, the group facilitator, Henry wrapped up the meeting and
encouraged the young men to bring others to next week’s meeting:

Henry: Bring a friend cause you never know who may need…
Justin: Healing…
Henry: Yes!

Justin finished the group facilitator’s sentence with Bhealing^ and collaboratively added to
what he believes the meetings could impart upon attendees. The healing referred to is not
medical but spiritual healing. Henry also encouraged the participants to bring people back to
the group, paralleling the church service by creating a common goal to convince others of the
powerful religious undercurrent of the space. The young men were urged to share the
experiences they have had with others, who may be in need— other young Black gay men
who are looking for spaces like these. In the next section, I further highlight the behavioral
aspects that are rolled over from African-American religious traditions and incorporated into
the lived religious practices of the organizational community: call and response and shouting.

Call and Response

In addition to serving as a Black gay community, surrogate church, and a spiritual source to
recharge energy, the young men experienced the weekly meetings as involving other aspects of
church services. When Henry, the group facilitator, spoke to the youth about the importance of
why he chose his topics for discussion, the youth reinforced the message with church praise
and encouraged his weekly lesson or Bsermon.^ In the following example, as the group
facilitator was closing out the weekly meeting with a final lesson for the week, participants
Marquis, Jalen, Patrick, and Justin all vocally respond to Henry’s lesson about blessings that
are coming to them in life:

Henry: We stay in moments because we tend to relive a story; we think it defines us. A
lot of things are waiting for you…other blessings
Marquis: Hallelujah!
Jalen: You speak! Yes! God is sending you all that!

Here the participants’ exclamations were reinforcing and encouraging Henry to continue
with his lesson. He then built on this idea of future blessings by turning to an example that
involved dating the same person from the past, which elicited further verbal expressions of
support from the group. With exclamations of BYes God!^ and BPraise God,^ the young men
engaged in open call and response with Henry, who took on the role of group pastor. One
participant encouraged Henry’s speech saying, BYes! Yes God! You have a sermon Henry!^ In
describing Henry’s message as a Bsermon,^ the young men were positioning themselves to
receive a BGod sent^ message as if it were a church lesson. Through verbal expressions of
agreement such as BHallelujah!^ and BYes, God!^ the participants recreated a church-like
experience in the secular organizational space. This spontaneous call and response has been
tied to the foundations of African-American religious traditions and preaching, connecting
Black religious practices to those of African origins (Pattillo-McCoy 1998).

After nearly two hours, Henry finished the meeting by wrapping up with a message he
wanted to leave with the group. He said, BPeople are your characters; you decide what they can
do in your story. You have to take the power and take the pen. Keep writing.^ Henry’s
Bsermon^ not only focused on the role that each person plays in his or her own life, but he also

Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394 385

urged his “flock” to remember that God still has a hand in the making of each life trajectory. As
a facilitator, Henry used his position to teach a message of God’s acceptance and involvement
in the young men’s lives that may counter the messages and lessons that they expressed in their
individual interviews. From this exchange it is evident that the organizational space mimics
that of a religious worship space in many ways. Similar to a church’s pastor, Henry’s position
as group leader gave him authority to deliver religious teachings to the young Black gay men
of the organization. The weekly meetings provided Henry with an opportunity to pastor within
the space and to impart his own individual religious interpretations, knowledge, and lessons
into the lives of the young men. Much as a pastor is seen as a religious and spiritual guide,
Henry fulfilled this function for the young men who attend UpLiftLA.

Call and response patterns also occurred when a group participant said something that was
agreed upon by the other young men, both when it referred directly to church or religion and
when it was used to agree with a life outlook. In one such instance, the young men use
religious exclamations in order to express agreement with another’s thought or worldview. One
such occurrence took place during a December meeting where the young men were discussing
what they planned to achieve in the New Year. While many of the participants shared goals for
new jobs, furthering education, or even finding relationships, Kyle, a younger member of the
group, spoke of aspects of himself he wanted to leave behind in the New Year:

Kyle shares with the group that he wanted to get rid of this attitude and meanness.
Henry, the group facilitator, exclaimed, BYes God! Yes God!!^ Kyle, who is sitting right
next to me, is visibly annoyed by this exclamation, but continued to speak: BI’m getting
rid of my femininity, I’m gonna give trade [in the new year].^

Even though Henry’s exclamation of BYes God! Yes God!!^ bothered Kyle, evidencing that
people might agree that he was Bmean^ or had an attitude, it also showed Henry’s support for
Kyle’s desire to change. This verbal exchange between the facilitator and Kyle could be found
in religious environments where one may deliver a testimonial, or expression of change guided
by divine intervention. In this case, though call and response was used to illustrate agreement
outside of an explicitly religious conversation, it brought religion to the forefront by inserting
BGod^ and appropriating symbols of religious worship. Expressions such as this one show that
religious teachings and practices from church environments carry over to other experiences in
the lives of these youths and can be re-purposed for everyday usage.

Religious exclamations can also occur when the meeting content is expressly about
religion. An example of this happened during one meeting where I observed the participants
talking about their experiences growing up in church. Two participants, Ian and Avery,
discussed perceptions about dating differences across sexualities and racial groups.
Specifically, Ian, a young Latino man who infrequently attended meetings, agreed with
Avery’s perception of the similarities between the gay and straight communities when it came
to dating and expressed his agreement via religious exclamations. Henry, in similar fashion,
called out the names of those who were raising their hands to speak, assigning numbers to
Avery and Ian in succession. Avery began, BYou go to church and you act like you are a ‘kid.’5

People will ignore it and act like they don’t see it like: ‘He’s got a girlfriend he’s getting
married.’^ Ian’s turn came next and he was visibly excited to share his perspective with the
group. He started by emphasizing how different it is in the Latino church. He said, BIt’s

5 Here Bkid^ is used to mean gay or homosexual (see Hawkeswood 1996; Johnson 2008)

386 Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394

completely different. Once the Pastor knows, you’re out!^ The group seemed rather shocked
by his comments and all agreed that their own experiences had not been the same.

This particular meeting was striking because, among a group that is usually exclusively
Black or African-American, Ian was seen as an authority on the Latino experience. By
providing a clearly divergent narrative of the Latino church, he inadvertently strengthened
the common experiences among these young Black gay men. Avery noted that within Black
churches, pastors know about their gay members but frequently ignore their sexualities or take
a Bdon’t ask, don’t tell^ approach. Conversely, Ian argued that in Latino religious communities
you are kicked out of the church— drawing a stark contrast to the church experiences of the
majority in the space. While it has been asserted that churches provide the foundation for moral
sexual practices within Black communities, organizations such as UpLiftLA provide an
alternative to the Bdon’t ask, don’t tell^ approach or the hidden romantic relationships that
tend to occur within Black church environments. This point is particularly important because it
suggested that a central function of the organization was to offer participants a space to openly
express and integrate their religious, sexual, and racial identities.

Another idea expressed in this exchange between the young men is the significance of
religion and religious spaces to romantic relationships, both gay and straight alike. Flowing
organically into this topic of relationships, Avery and Rahsaan discussed the church as a
Bhookup spot.^ Avery shared that among his friends the Bkids^ attend church for status within
the community and to be seen by others within the space. When Rahsaan expressed shock that
the church is a place where gay men might meet one another, Avery replied, BOhhh yeah! My
friend calls them BChays,^ the church gays; they go to the club but never get a man from the
club, but rather always get their man from church.^ Ian exclaimed, BAmen^ in response. Avery
shared that churches can serve as a place to meet a potential partner, in particular through using
geospatial locating applications that are highly used within LGBT communities, particularly
among men who have sex with men (Holloway et al. 2014). This information and the belief
that church was an ideal place to find a romantic partner was seconded by Ian, who gave an
BAmen^ in typical call and response patterns found in church religious settings.

These examples of call and response are telling because they identify multiple themes and
patterns within the space. First, the young men use religiously derived exclamations to show
support within the space for messages shared, both religious and nonreligious. Second, the
existence of contrasting narratives by some group participants connects the bonds of Black
participants by highlighting communal experiences among the majority of the group. Third,
racial, sexual, and religious life experiences converge in the weekly meetings and allow for
rich discussions among the participants, reflecting the important religious socializations that
have occurred in their lives and how they come to create meaning in the space.

Shouting

Expressions of agreement can also be religious but non-verbal in the space. In one such
instance, Avery used another form of religious expression commonly seen within African-
American religious spaces, Bshouting,^ to support a message about friendship to Torian, who
had sought out the advice of the group after a recent conflict with a close friend. Henry gave
Torian the floor to speak, and he began to tell a story about his college friend. He shared that
when his mother passed away a female friend’s father wanted to give him money for his loss.
However, the friend never gave him the money but kept it to herself. Many of the young men
exclaimed, BOh hell no!^ Avery directly addressed Torian, asking, BHow do you call her a

Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394 387

friend?! I don’t wanna be ratchet, but you need to reevaluate this so-called friendship cause
that’s not even a friendship!^ Others expressed agreement through exclaiming BAmen!^ and
BYes!^ Avery got up and shouted, giving a Bpraise dance^ with his feet moving quickly around
his seat and raising his hands high toward the sky.

In this scene men used both religious exclamations and religious praise dance expressions
to emphasize agreement about defining the friendship in question. Again, the conversation was
not about religion but rather focused on helping one of the group members with an interper-
sonal relationship. By using a style of dance expression that is typically seen in African-
American churches, Avery added a religious element to this agreement and adapted this
practice to the secular space. Shouting in this space signaled several messages. First, as a
marker of the African-American religious tradition, shouting and similar behaviors (e.g., call
and response) highlighted a connection to the larger African-American community and
religiosity. Second, members of the group who are seen as the most Breligious,^ an evaluation
that is based on their outward behaviors and the frequency with which they mentioned church
attendance, often utilized these expressions. (Often the most religious members are given
nicknames such as BSister Gloria^ in the space). As examples of religious worship, these
Bholy^ participants set the standard for the ways that emotional connections with God are
enacted. The take-home message suggests cohesion of sexual, racial, and religious identities
for these young men.

These observations have illustrated how religious language and expressions are used in
everyday conversations that occur during the weekly meetings at UpLiftLA. They emphasize
the similarities between the church space and organizational space in their roles for young
Black gay men. Many structural parallels can be found between these two social
institutions: 1) Meetings occur weekly at the same time and on the same day, 2)
Agreement is frequently expressed through call and response or praise dancing, and 3)
A leader (pastor or lead facilitator) acts as guide through spiritual and personal
revelations. Furthermore, these weekly occurrences give the young men an opportu-
nity to engage one another not just about topics of religion, but also to use their
religious expressions to discuss everyday events and relationships and to challenge nega-
tive religious messages.

Reclamation and Reinterpretation

In spite of the many negative experiences that young Black gay men encounter in churches,
many of them worked to recapture religious, spiritual, and organizational aspects of church
outside of it. As such, these results parallel other sociological accounts of queer women’s
religious practices in Los Angeles, who, regardless of religious individualism, still sought a
sense of religious community (Wilcox 2009). The meetings at UpLiftLA presented the young
men with a weekly opportunity to interpret events of good fortune that occurred in
their everyday lives. As we already saw, participants frequently used the religious
term Bblessings^ to explain these positive changes in their lives. This notion of
Bblessings^ comes from church teachings, where blessings are used to designate positive
events and celebrated collectively as a community. In this context, the young men suggested
that God is favoring them through unexpected gifts or positivity. Importantly, in the repurposing
of church language and practice these young Black gay men attributed these blessings to their
acceptance of themselves as gay.

388 Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394

An example occurred in one meeting where Henry guided the participants through an
interactive exercise to develop strategies to combat challenges. Henry created a large brick-
pattern with index cards on the main wall in the discussion space. Each index card displayed a
different word. I could make out words such as “judgment,” “negativity,” and “failed rela-
tionships” written on the cards. As the conversation began, Henry invited people to talk about
the different challenges that can create Bwalls^ or Bbarriers^ in life. When one of the young
men spoke, he asked him to pick a word from the wall that resonated with his own inner
barrier. One of the participants, Reginald, talked about having overcome his personal self-
doubts and insecurities. Henry honed in on Reginald’s use of the word Binsecurities^ and
handed him that card from the wall. Behind the Bbrick^ was another card with a more positive
word written. The card behind Reginald’s read Bblessings.^ Reginald began to speak about
how just tonight on the train a woman told him that he should and could be an actor. He talked
about how she commented on his energy and gave him a card to a casting director contact that
would sign him on the spot. Malachi piped up with shouts of agreement and the other
young men encouraged Reginald to add detail to the story. Reginald continued, BYou
know I’m bad at telling stories…^ Building from Reginald’s own admission of his
storytelling, Malachi added that the woman gave Reginald the card and told him to
pretend like he personally knew the director himself. Reginald picked up his card,
saying that he had gotten rid of his insecurities and now different blessings like this
experience on the train were coming into his life.

This activity opened an opportunity for Reginald to construct his train experience
that day as a blessing that could only come to fruition after having sorted through his
own personal doubts. Henry had facilitated this interpretation by planting the work
blessings as part of the activity’s structure. Yet, the young men also discussed
blessings organically as they interpreted their own lives. In the following passage,
Jalen admitted that when he finally came to openly express his sexuality, new changes or
Bblessings^ came into his life:

God is starting to bless me, and my arms are wide open; God is just blessing me so much
right now. You’ll take steps and God or whomever you believe in will be right there with
you.

Jalen’s exclamations of God’s work in his own life happened upon his own self-acceptance.
Jalen emphasized the blessings as a result of accepting his own sexuality, an interpretation that
stands in stark contrast to many of the ways these young men have been taught about God and
sexuality.

An understanding of the broad spectrum of other participant’s relationships with
religion was also evident within the group. These young men worked to ensure they
were inclusive of other’s beliefs no matter what they might have been in order to
acknowledge the varying paths that one may take to respond to the anti-gay messages
that they have heard throughout life. Jalen emphasized this by saying not simply
BGod,^ but also Bwhomever you believe in.^ While statements such as these were
somewhat inclusive, there was no question that there still existed an implicit expec-
tation that everyone believed in something. As such, it reinforced the norm of religion
and spirituality within the organizational space.

Group participants also reinterpreted the similarities between their own lives and that of
religious figures. Young men in the space reconciled the negative lessons that they had
accumulated over time through religious teachings to the many challenges Jesus faced.

Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394 389

Some of the young men felt that while they may be different from others, they couldn’t be
wrong because God himself was ridiculed. One night, the participants recalled their coming-
out narratives. Elijah told to the group:

God created everyone and how I live my life. I’m too old to beg people to be my friend;
I have to make myself happy before I help anyone be happy. Myself, I come first! Let
‘em talk! They’d talk about me when I’m a billionaire, and they’d talk about me if I were
broke too. Let them talk! They talked about Jesus Christ too!

Here, Elijah highlighted that he must find his own path to happiness and that he knew
people would continue to talk about him no matter the circumstances. He argued that all
people are created by God and therefore should be accepted by others. Elijah suggested that he
had come to accept himself and that he was Btoo old^ to fight for unreciprocated friendship. By
aligning his own experiences with those of Jesus Christ, Elijah expressed an attitude of
perseverance and apathy towards the opinions of others.

Young Black gay men exploring their gay sexualities within a church-going family face a
dilemma. It is very likely that they have heard denunciations of their sexualities at home and in
church; yet, they still find themselves clinging to certain aspects of organized religious
worship. The young men in this study maintained at least some minimal connection or belief
in a divine being, even if they did not practice at a church or with a religious congregation.
Moreover, in order to reconcile incongruence in their racial, sexual, and religious identities
these young men appropriated religious practice and teachings and imported them into a
secular space. By creating a place for the discussion of religious teachings within a gay-
affirming environment, these young men are able to retain supportive elements of the religious
church experience: community and collective participation.

Conclusion

Captured in this analysis are the many ways that local community organizations can serve as
spiritual and religious spaces for Black gay young men. The organizational space of UpLiftLA
provides these young men with an opportunity to recharge, repurpose, and engage one another
with spiritual beliefs, as well as resources to resist the religiously rooted homophobia that the
youth in this study experienced. Rather than reject religion outright, the majority of these
young men have elected to redirect the same negative lessons that were taught against their
sexualities to create new meanings that explain challenges within their daily experiences.
That is to say, while some youth have rejected religious messaging or focused on a
more personal religious relationship with God, they are simultaneously engaging in
communal religious discourse with one another within these organizational contexts in
an affirmative manner.

Many of the young men in this study either remained in their home churches that espouse
anti-gay sentiments or left churches altogether. The proclivity for Black LGBT people to live
and socialize in ethnic, not LGBT, communities (Moore 2010b) means that the decision to
leave one’s church is not an easy one. Over the last 40 years, churches for Black LGBT
persons have opened in Los Angeles, such as The Renewed Church of Los Angeles and Unity
Fellowship Church of Christ, among others. As these churches gain larger footholds into the
local communities it will be imperative to reassess the newer generation of LGBTyoung adults
worshipping within these communities.

390 Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394

While this study is limited to one organizational space, its findings highlight the important
ways Black gay young men are creating religious spaces among LGBT organizations, even if
that is not the focus of the organization itself. Organizations targeting Black LGBT youth
should recognize the important role they may play in the religious trajectories of these youth
by continuing to provide spaces where these ideas can be collectively discussed and negoti-
ated. It also may suggest that explicitly working to provide alternative religious spaces for this
population could provide a stronger connection with a target population frequently looking for
ways to draw spiritual meanings outside of traditional Black church environments. An
intersectional framework has allowed for a deeper understanding of how Black gay men are
negotiating their identities. Much like the findings of Schnoor’s (2006) intersectional analysis
of gay Jewish men, these young men are using religious values and practices to add meaning,
purpose, and sense to their gay identities.

Within religious settings Pitt (2010) has argued that Black gay men may delegitimize
deliverers of anti-gay religious messages. Other research has suggested that these experiences
may then lead to a personal or individualistic relationship with God. Researchers have found
that the community aspects of the religious experience are of the utmost importance to sexual
minority young adults (Yip et al. 2013). I find that in addition to these processes in religious
settings, the Black gay young men in this study import elements of the emotional and
community aspects of religious spaces to build new communities and give authority to new
messengers of God. The structural elements of the weekly meetings parallel religious sermons
and teachings found in traditional Christian churches, and it allows for the youth to retain and
recreate aspects of their religious experiences that they each hold dear. Here, youth have
lessened the credibility of religious clergy by rejecting incompatible messaging and
transferred that credibility to a new space with a new religious and spiritual leader. In
doing so, these participants are doing religious work, creating meaning of their
everyday experiences through a religious lens and practicing religion (Bender 2003),
thereby creating paths of resiliency.

Acknowledgments This article would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of my
participants, many of whom gave feedback on original drafts. I thank Stefan Timmermans for his helpful
feedback throughout this entire project, as well as the Editor-in-Chief of Qualitative Sociology and the
anonymous reviewers for their insightful suggestions.

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Terrell J.A. Winder is a doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a
qualitative methodologist whose research interests include urban sociology, gender and sexuality, race and
ethnicity, and stigma. His dissertation is a mixed methods study of identity development and anti-gay stigma
response among young Black gay men in Los Angeles.

394 Qual Sociol (2015) 38:375–394

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