According to a new Barna survey of 9,000 gay, lesbian, and bisexual Americans, 70 percent describe themselves as Christian and 60 percent say faith is very important in their lives. David Gibson explains why gay congregants are so committed to their churches:
One [reason] is that gays and lesbians are drawn to ministering to others as a result of their own experience, and that the Christian journey of forgiveness and redemption and acceptance resonates deeply with them. “One reason that homosexuals are drawn to service in the church is that many of these people have been wounded themselves. They know what it’s like to feel broken, and they want to help others in whatever way they are hurting,” said the Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit priest and author, who knows gays and lesbians who work in ministry despite the fact that they cannot openly identify as homosexual. “The Christian paradigm of the scapegoat—the marginalized one, the one who suffers unjustly—quite powerful, especially for gay people.”
[…]Moreover, the process of coming out as a homosexual is often seen as analogous to the Christian pilgrimage of self-discovery and acceptance. “I have a theory that once you discern one call—that God has created you to be gay—that you are more adept at understanding God’s call in other ways, as into ministry,” said [Ann] Kansfield.
Homosexuals who have come to terms with their sexuality also tend to be active in church, and especially in lobbying to change church policies on homosexuality, for the same reasons they are involved in these causes in the secular sphere: because they want Christianity, and America, to live up to their stated beliefs.
Read the full article here.