Church rules: How churches and individuals recreate and challenge compulsory Christianity in the Deep South

Abstract

Conservative Christian spaces in the deep south promote compulsory Christianity, the belief that there is only one way to be Christian and individuals cannot be both Christian and LGBTQIA+. These contexts continue to remain hostile and intolerant for LGBTQIA + Christians. To understand, and thereby challenge and change the problems LGBTQIA + Christians in the deep south face, we interviewed 25 (23 white, 2 Black) individuals who identified as LGBTQIA + Christians, about their experiences in and with churches and the organizations influenced by churches. We analyzed their responses using an integrative theoretical perspective that examines the interplay of micro (individual), meso (organizational), and macro (culture) levels. Our findings demonstrate how the meso organizational level serves as a conduit between larger, often ephemeral cultural beliefs in religious doctrine to individuals and how LGBTQIA + Christian reconcile their Christian and LGBTQIA + identities, navigate church rules, policies, and practices, as well as challenge compulsory Christianity. Our findings demonstrate the weaknesses in anti-LGBTQIA + rhetoric in church organizations, the potential mechanisms for resistance and change, as well as how to challenge the stronghold of compulsory Christianity in the Christian deep south.