Faith, Sexuality and Identity

These stories were created to explore the interactions and intersections between faith, sexuality and identity, and how those complex influences affect health and well-being.

The duality of scars
Growing up in a Jewish community, Talia was expected to conform. The path she would follow was clear: a good education, marriage and children. When she began questioning her sexuality and her faith in God, this path disappeared; disapproval, ostracism and bullying appeared in its place. Years of despair and destructive behaviour eventually gave way to acceptance and the discovery of a new path, embracing both her faith and her sexuality.

Listen
It was hard for his counsellor to believe that Khakan was really a gay Muslim man. Her response was indicative of the lack of support available, so Khakan decided to set up a support network for people identifying as gay and Muslim. Finding A Voice was just the beginning of Khakan’s quest to live out the values of his parents, celebrating the fact that we are all human and everyone deserves love and respect, regardless of their sexuality or their religion.

Seeing the whole picture
As a committed Christian, it was hard for Jayne to accept that she was gay. She decided it would be easier to change her sexuality than to change her religion and others supported this path. Years of loneliness and anguish followed until she discovered that in the eyes of a loving God she could, in fact, be both gay and Christian.