Affirming Rainbow Research has been established to conduct research on issues individuals face when they experience same-sex attraction. Currently, we are focused on the topic of religion and sexual orientation. Through conducting research on important issues like this, our ultimate goal is to help counselors, psychologists and other mental health professionals better understand the experiences of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and others who experience same-sex attraction. We intend to provide a place for people from across the country to learn about current perspectives and assist in furthering supportive research by completing surveys on different topics from time to time.

Current Study

Many people have struggled with how to integrate their identity as a religious person with their identity as someone who is attracted to people who are the same sex. In the past decade, therapists have begun to integrate religion and spirituality into counseling sexual minorities. There are many challenges faced by individuals who have been raised in a faith that is not supportive of same-sex attraction.

Unfortunately, many counselors have offered clients limited options, such as abandoning religion, hiding one's sexuality in order to remain in one's faith tradition, or leaving one's religious community for another one that is more affirming. One thing that we've seen is that there has not been much discussion about how to help people who want to stay in the religion in which they were raised and to which they may be intimately attached. A person's religion of origin can provide tradition, hope, spiritual and/or divine connection, and a sense of belonging to a community of others whose religious and spiritual practices are similar. Thus, we are interested in discovering how people have managed to belong to their traditional faith while also experiencing same-sex attraction. Therefore, we have put together the survey to collect information from people about this.

It is our hope that understanding the ways in which people with same-sex attraction cope with the negative messages they may get from their religious communities will help similar individuals in the future to better navigate these struggles to reconcile two important parts of themselves.

"...we are interested in discovering how people have managed to belong to their traditional faith while also experiencing same-sex attraction."

Thank you for helping us by sharing this website address with those you know who may be interested in helping advance the counseling efforts in this field.