MORE than two-thirds of LGBT+ Christians do not “feel safe to be themselves” in their place of worship, a new survey suggests.
The online survey was launched on World Mental Health Day on 10 October 2021 for two weeks, coinciding with the Church of England’s Safeguarding Sunday. It was organised by nine LGBT+ cross-denominational organisations, including Dignity and Worth, OneBodyOneFaith, the Open Table Network, and the Ozanne Foundation.
The results were published on Monday.
Of the 1121 UK residents who responded, 754 stated that they were either lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, and/or non-binary Christians, more than two-thirds of whom (69 per cent) said that they attended church regularly — that is, most weeks — mostly at C of E churches (60 per cent).
One third of all LGBT+ respondents agreed that they felt “safe enough to be themselves” in the church in which they usually worshiped (31 per cent), as well as safe to be “out to everyone” in this setting (37 per cent). More gay respondents reported feeling safe to be out than lesbians (45 per cent as against 35 per cent), trans and non-binary respondents (28 per cent), and bisexuals (23 per cent).
The most common factors that respondents said increased feelings of safety included not having to worry about the content of sermons (76 per cent), prayers (70 per cent), or notices (65 per cent); being able to be open about their sexuality and/or gender identity (75 per cent); and a warm welcome from church leaders (73 per cent).
Other common factors that made respondents feel safer in church included being aware that there were other LBGT+ people in the congregation (which 52 per cent of respondents reported); having church leaders openly affirm same-sex relationships (40 per cent); positive recognition of LGBT+ people in sermons (38 per cent); and an inclusive statement on the church website (33 per cent).
Of those who reported that none of the above applied to them, 37 per cent said that they felt apprehensive in church; 35 per cent said that they withheld themselves; and 26 per cent said that they felt “scared” to be themselves.
One third of respondents (34 per cent) said that there had been no change in how safe they had felt in church over the past five years; one quarter reported feeling “a little more safe”, 18 per cent “much safer”, and 20 per cent “a little” or “much less” safe.
More generally, asked whether there were any environments in which respondents “used to be out but where they no longer feel safe to do so”, 17 per cent said “church” — higher than other places mentioned, including work and socially. These figures were higher among trans and non-binary respondents (21 per cent for church; 14 per cent for work; and 13 per cent for socially).
The research was carried out by Dr Sarah Carr, who is specialist in mental-health and social-care research. In a foreword to her report on the results, published on Monday, she writes: “Whilst faith and belief can have known positive benefits for many people’s mental health, it can sadly have the opposite effect on LGBT+ people given that so many have experienced exclusion or judgement by various faith communities. . .
“Given that we know that LGBT+ people already have a predisposition towards poorer mental health outcomes and experience higher levels of violence and hate crime, which naturally undermines their sense of safety, this additional pressure caused by faith communities on their mental wellbeing and feeling of safety is deeply concerning.”
Her report makes several recommendations based on the data. Churches, Dr Carr suggests, should be “far more proactive” in helping LGBT+ Christians to feel safe in church; pay as much attention to emotional and psychological safety as to physical safety (which, respondents reported, was out of kilter); be clear where they stand on LGBT+ matters; and drive awareness of pressures faced by LGBT+ Christians.
The retiring Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Revd Paul Bayes, who until recently chaired the Ozanne Foundation, said that church leaders should “be clear about where they stand on LGBT+ matters. Silence has a price — and we now see clearly who has been paying it.” Jayne Ozanne described the results as “a serious wake-up call” to church leaders.
To mark the start of LGBT+ History month on Tuesday, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York said in a joint statement: “Our prayer is that this would be a time of truly valuing each other as God’s precious and beloved children. . . We also take this opportunity to lament and reject all prejudice, hatred, oppression, and violence against LGBT+ people. We pray that LGBT+ people around the world would be able to live lives free from fear and find joy in the love of God. Let us commit to building communities in which everyone experiences the unconditional love of God in Christ Jesus.”