One in Five LGBTQ+ Youth Finds Importance in Religion: Report The ADVOCATE https://www.advocate.com/news/2022/12/21/one-five-lgbtq-youth-finds-importance-religion-reportBy Alex Cooper
December 21 2022 5:40 PM EST
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A new study from the Trevor Project has highlighted the comfort some LGBTQ+ youth find in religion and spirituality.
In the study published on Wednesday, the organization conducted research on the religiousness or spirituality of queer youth and how that relates to mental health outcomes.
The report notes that religion can be “fraught topics” for queer people due to the discrimination emanating from certain religious groups, and many of these groups still exclude LGBTQ+ people.
“Historic conflicts between religious communities and LGBTQ people have created a common misconception that LGBTQ people cannot be religious or spiritual,” the Trevor Project’s report states.
Queer youth also said that they prayed, meditated, or privately reflected on their religion at least once a week if not more frequently.
Youth that said their religion was important or very important to them reported lower rates of depression than compared to those who said religion wasn’t — 55 percent to 58 percent.
“These findings demonstrate that, despite commonly held perceptions that put religious and LGBTQ identities at odds with one another, many LGBTQ youth report that religion or spirituality is important to them,” said Myeshia Price (she/they), director of research science at The Trevor Project, said in a statement.
