Work

Religious freedom for whom? How conservative Christianity erodes the religious freedom of those it seeks to discriminate against

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: There is a common misconception that to be LGBTQ+ and religious is incompatible.This article deconstructs this binarised understanding, arguing that it delegitimises both sexual and gender identity and also the religious identity of some LGBTQ + people, hindering their religious freedom.The article is based on findings from a large multifaceted study conducted in Australia.Three sources of data are analysed: a nonrepresentative Australian national survey of religious people that included 463 LGBTQ+ people; a non-representative survey of LGBTQ+ people working in religiously affiliated workplaces in Australia (n = 430); and 42 interviews with LGBTQ+ people working in religiously affiliated workplaces.The surveys show that there is a large minority of religious people who identify as LGBTQ+ and that many LGBTQ+ people working in religiously affiliated workplaces are deeply religious and deliberately choose to work in these workplaces.

Source: Australian Journal of Political Science

DOI: 10.1080/10361146.2023.2283005

Authors: Bronwyn Fielder, Douglas Ezzy

Institution: University of Tasmania

Language: English

Topic: Religious Freedom and Discrimination

Subfield: Law

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Funder: Australian Research Council