Religious Abuse: Implications for Counseling Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Individuals.

Religion is often the place a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) individual may turn to understand and navigate their sexual orientation identity development. However, religious abuse may occur when a religious group or leader, whether intentionally or unintentionally, uses coercion, threats, rejection, condemnation, or manipulation to force the individual into submission of the religious views about sexuality. The abuse may result in great harm to the victim by causing low self-esteem, guilt, shame, spirituality loss, substance abuse, or thoughts of suicide. Counselors need to be aware of religious abuse to help clients navigate any spiritual divide between religious beliefs and sexuality. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to (a) describe the differences between religion and spirituality,(b) define religious abuse, (c) describe the effects of religious abuse on LGBT individuals and society, and (d) delineate the counseling implications of religious abuse in working with LGBT individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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