Introduction: More than HIV – About Today’s Young Black People with Fluid Sexual Identities

Religion, in general, and the Black Church, in particular are integral parts of the Black experience for many African Americans. However, what if you felt directly or indirectly unwelcomed in many organized religious spaces due to a dimension of your social identity? What if you could participate, but only if you refrained from being completely “yourself”? How would you feel if you continually heard negative sermons about you and your community from the pulpit? These are some of the questions discussed by young Black people ages 18-30 years old with fluid sexual identities in From Jesus to J-Setting: Religious and Sexual Fluidity among Young Black People. The book centers the voices and experiences of a group of young Black members of the LGBTQIA (i.e., Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transsexual, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual) community as they grapple with issues of religion and spirituality. Do individuals believe in God or a Higher Power? Do they consider themselves religious, spiritual or something else? In what religious and/or spiritual practices do they engage? Furthermore, what can religious institutions like the Black Church do to support young Black members of the LGBTQIA community? What types of allies are needed to support this population in general? Each chapter examines some of the intrinsic and extrinsic effects of religion and/or spiritualty for members of this community as well as how they navigate such spaces in ways that are relevant and empowering to them. A classroom activity, as well as discussion prompts complement each chapter and challenge students to further consider the experiences of the young people who shared their stories around religion and spirituality. A variety of discussion prompts are intentionally included; some can be used to foster classroom discussions. Others may be used for quizzes or group exercises. All videos and clips are publicly accessible material.

This Resource for Readers was designed with teachers and students in mind and offers information not included in the book.

Learn More About the Series: https://ugapress.org/series/sociology-of-race-and-ethnicity/