Description

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Yes Gawd! explores the effects of religious belief and practice on political behavior among the LGBT community, a population long persecuted by religious institutions and generally considered to be non-religious. Royal Cravens deftly shows how faith impacts the politics of LGBT people. He details how the queer community creates, defines, and experiences spirituality and spiritual affirmation as well as the consequences this has for their identity, socialization, and political development.

Cravens also demonstrates the mobilizing power of faith for LGBT people by contrasting the effects of participation in faith and secular communities on political activism. He explores how factors such as coming out, race, and LGBT-affirming churches influence political attitudes and behavior and explains how the development of LGBT politico-religious activism provides opportunities for LGBT people to organize politically.

Ultimately, Cravens provides a cohesive account of how religion acts as a catalyst for and facilitator in the political development of LGBT people in the United States. In the process, he shows that there is room for both religion in LGBT communities and LGBT people in religious communities.

About the Author

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Royal G. Cravens, III is a Senior Research Analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center. He is a previous recipient of the Bailey and Cynthia Weber Awards from the American Political Science Association and has held fellowships with the Social Science Research Council and Public Religion Research Institute.

Praise For…

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“Through convincing analyses of unique survey data, Royal G. Cravens III challenges popular wisdom about LGBT people, religion, and politics. Not only do most LGBT people in the United States identify as religious, but also many of them report positive experiences within their religious groups. Furthermore, LGBT people who are active in supportive faith communities are more likely to engage in pro-LGBT political activism than those who are not. Yes Gawd! is the most comprehensive analysis of religion, politics, and LGBT identity that I have ever come across. Any scholar interested in these topics should buy this book.”—Jonathan S. Coley, Associate Professor of Sociology at Oklahoma State University, and author of Gay on God’s Campus: Mobilizing for LGBT Equality at Christian Colleges and Universities

“It is often assumed in U.S. politics that religion and LGBT people are incompatible categories, or even at odds with one another amidst an ongoing culture war. Relying on a diverse set of socio-historical sources, Cravens questions this construction of LGBT identity and religion. By relying on a rich and diverse set of social surveys, Cravens challenges us to rethink the role of religion in LGBT life and political affairs. He convincingly argues and empirically shows that religion is consequential to the political meaning of LGBT identities in politics, such that LGBT political behavior is not fully understood without considering religion. Cravens is attuned to the intersectional and complex ways religion may affect LGBT people. Yes Gawd! charts a clear course for future scholarship, and it undoes the constructed notion that LGBT identity and religion are in conflict with one another.”—Andrew R. Flores, Assistant Professor of Government at the School of Public Affairs at American University and Affiliated Scholar at the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law