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Relationship Between Religion and Non-Heterosexuality: A Study of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People of Diverse Religions in China

ABSTRACT An established scholarly literature, largely generated from North America and Europe, highlighted intolerance experienced by lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people in some mainstream religious traditions such as Christianity and Islam. However, very little research has examined the lived experiences of LGB people who identify as followers of other religions in other parts of the world. The study examined the self-reported experiences of 2,681 LGB people of diverse religions in China, where any data on the group has been extremely rare because homosexuality and religion are both topics officially sanctioned. It was found that a larger proportion of LGB people of traditional Chinese religions assessed their religious doctrines to be more LGB-accepting and reported that their religious workers and fellow believers were more LGB-welcoming, as compared with their Christian and Muslim counterparts. LGB people of traditional Chinese religions were also less likely to experience negative treatment in the religious community than Christians. However, the majority of the Chinese LGB people surveyed did not disclose their sexual orientation to members of their religious community, and this did not differ significantly across religions. The study contributes to the research literature by diversifying the understanding of the relationship between religion and non-heterosexuality.