Author(s): Ferdi KIRAÃ
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate whether religious homosexual individuals experience a dilemma between their spiritual and sexual identities when they face their sexual orientation and spiritual identities. We predicted that religiosity and purpose in life scores would significantly differ depending on the beliefs of homosexual individuals concerning whether homosexual orientation was a sexual identity disorder and whether homosexual orientation could be changed to heterosexual orientaion. Three hundred and eighty-two Turkish gays and bisexual males who believed in Islam participated in the study. Two main groups emerged ultimately in terms of homosexual individuals’ beliefs about homosexuality. The findings showed that the individuals who constituted the first group and tended to accept their homosexual orientation scored lower in religiosity but higher in purpose in life. On the other hand, the individuals who constituted the second group and tended to reject their sexual orientaiton scored higher in religiosity but lower in purpose in life. The results were discussed in the light of Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance Theory.
The Journal of International Social Research received 7760 citations as per Google Scholar report
