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Partly funded by a Faculty of Health Professions research grant, Brenda Beagan (Occupational Therapy) and Brenda Hattie (MSVU) have been conducting a study about how lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit and queer (LGBTQ) people in the Halifax area experience religion, spirituality and well-being. They did qualitative interviews with 35 people ranging widely in age (29-68 years), gender identities, and sexual orientations.

Preliminary results of the research were presented at a workshop during Pride Week in July. In February, an afternoon workshop - supported by the Nova Scotia Rainbow Action Project - was held at the Main Branch of the Halifax Public Library. The community members who attended had a great discussion about the study, and about issues of spirituality in LGBTQ communities.

Across all ages, the interviews unearthed a lot of pain and loss associated with most mainstream religions. Many people had endured consistent messages about being evil or unworthy. Most had left their faith traditions when they came out to themselves or began gender transition, though some were determined to stay with the faith traditions of their upbringings. Those who were asked to leave a church experienced profound losses. Interestingly, those who had studied theology most intensely seemed to experience least internal conflict between spriritual/religious beliefs and LGBTQ identities. Not surprisingly, many participants experienced depression, low self-esteem, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, addictions, self-harm and feelings of unworthiness - at least at points in their lives.

There was considerable spiritual seeking among participants, and many had crafted individualized spiritual practices and beliefs. A few had found faith traditions that welcomed them as LGBTQ people. Almost everyone thought that because so many have experienced harms from organized religions, LGBTQ communities are quite intolerant of anything related to spirituality or religion. Many participants felt they had to be "closeted" regarding their spiritual beliefs and practices, or risk marginalization within LGBTQ communities.

Brenda and Brenda continue to analyze the data, focusing on processes of transformation and integration.