Bisexuality: Making the Invisible Visible in Faith Communities

by Marie Alford-Harkey, Debra W. Haffner

Is your faith community open to people whose sexuality does not fit into the categories of gay/lesbian or straight? Does your faith community have access to resources about bisexuality and bisexual people? This guidebook is designed to help congregations understand bisexuality and to encourage faith communities to “make the invisible visible.”

Religious leaders and congregations can use this guidebook to inspire theological reflection and action in their faith communities. Bisexuality is often invisible in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organizations, society as a whole, and in faith communities and denominations. Although many mainline denominations and congregations have made great strides in welcoming and affirming lesbian and gay people, and some have even begun to respond to the specific needs and concerns of transgender people, the “B” in the LGBT acronym is still largely ignored. When a congregation welcomes and recognizes people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, it contributes to a positive image of religion among people who may have rejected religion as intolerant or irrelevant. Such congregations become safe spaces for youth who are exploring their sexuality and have questions. In addition, embracing bisexual persons makes it possible for those persons to be open about their identity and helps create a more open atmosphere in the faith community, encouraging authenticity and community among members. Congregations that embrace bisexual persons can also help heal the suffering caused by the invisibility of bisexual people in society.

This guidebook is written to address the broad spectrum of American congregations. The information it contains will be relevant or adaptable to Jewish, Christian, Unitarian Universalist, and Islamic faith communities.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

95 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Angélique (Angel) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this guidebook includes some helpful suggestions for those looking to make their religious community more bi-inclusive, it ultimately fell below my expectations. The authors did a poor job of integrating (not just tacking on) interfaith perspectives into the discussion of bisexuality and didn't effectively connect the abundance of research they presented to the realities of being a bi+ person in a faith community. The tone of the book was also very dry which made it a struggle to get through, despite my vested interest in this topic and the brevity of the book.

I believe this guide would have benefitted from including more narratives of bi+ people of faith, more space to consider religious perspectives outside the mainline Protestant worldview that dominated the text, and more 101/"how to" information and examples (e.g., "what to say and not to say to someone considering coming out as a bi+ identity in your faith community", "what are the most common definitions of bisexuality?", "what is pansexuality?"). Despite the fact there are some really great suggestions in this guide (particularly in the last section), I have a lot of reservations about recommending this book even to those in the mainline denominations it was most intended to serve because of its limitations. I will say I think excerpts of this book could be useful in certain religious contexts IF they are supplemented with narratives recounting the lived experiences of bi+ people of faith (which could include bringing in speakers), articles online that do a better job at introducing the concept of bisexuality or considering how to walk beside bi+ folks through the specific challenges we face, and resources on sexuality and faith totally devoted to the faith tradition of whoever is using the book.

[JD Waggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty basic introduction to the fact that bisexual people exist, they often get forgotten in both LGBT spaces and heterosexual spaces, and they are rarely given specific space in faith communities and conversations. If you already know that, this isn't going to be terrifically helpful.

It's written a little like a senior thesis but would be a very good resource book for parishioners who are just discovering bisexuality or for a small group studying sexuality (I probably wouldn't have people read it on its own, it's a tad dry). There are statistics and studies and such to ground the suggestions of how to be deliberate about including bisexuals, which is helpful for those who are interested in the concreteness of the sexualities that seem brand-new to many older folks. And I do very much appreciate the Resources section at the end that has book suggestions and group websites for bi-friendly organizations and information.

The basic takeaway is that faith spaces (and here that means mostly the Abrahamic faiths: Christianity, Judaism, Islam; it leans heavily toward Christianity, but by no means exclusively) need to name bisexuality specifically when talking about inclusion, protection, and celebration. I think I'll hang on to this as a starting point for when parishioners come with the very beginnings of questions, but it wasn't anything tremendously groundbreaking for me.

[Erie Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be using this for my ministry work!