‘A younger religion? Queer temporalities, transitions, and traditions’ Making Space for Queer Identifying Religious Youth ( ) Yvette Taylor (PI): Ria Snowdon (RA): 1

Participants ► 38 participants (Newcastle, Manchester, London) ► years old (mean age 24) ► 19 participants identified as female (19), male (15), gender-queer (2), gender-queer and transgender (1), and transsexual female-to-male (1). ► 15 participants identified as gay, lesbian (13), bisexual (5), queer (4), and asexual (1). 2

Methods ► Interviews - - the family, education, work, leisure, relationships and identity, religion, and the imagined future. ► Diaries ► Mind-maps 3

Diaries 4 Andrea, 24, Newcastle

Diaries 5 Rebecca, 22, Newcastle

Mapping Exercise 6 Tom, 20, Manchester

(Re)Making (ir)religious space … to attend the church, it’s actually a really good way to construct your idea about your faith and to be able to learn from others about what you can do to improve it, but for me it’s not something I think is helpful… being in my Theology class there are a lot of people who are religious or not, and I think engaging with that group of people is what I want to get out of being in a religious group... I don’t want to be involved in a ‘sect’ or denomination really, but I’m still discovering myself religiously. (Isabelle, 18, Newcastle) 7

(Re)Making (ir)religious space … Basically, God gave me the choice: he says ‘you can either stay with your girlfriend… and sort of outwardly gay and act like that or you can kind of push that part of you out and take me in, make space for me and in that case you would be very Christian’. And I said ‘no, I love my girlfriend and I want to be with her and if that means I’m not going to do what you think’s right so be it’. I don’t think it’s wrong but I understand that he thinks it’s wrong. Basically, I disagree with God which is a very weird thing. (Susan, 19, Newcastle) 8

(Re)Making (ir)religious space ► ► ‘I’ve not felt the need to go to a specific church regularly in Newcastle, I’m quite happy to pray in my room if I want to.’ (Mark, 21, Newcastle)   ‘I was always really religious. It’s strange, even though my parents themselves weren’t, even from being very young, like when I was 4 or 5 I came home from school and built an altar in my room and my parents were freaked out!’ (Estelle, 25, Manchester) 9

Church ‘hopping’ and queer transitions …And sometimes it makes me feel really self- conscious when I go into a church and everyone can tell I’m gay and I’m like, ‘Yes, okay, I’m gay and walking into church. Is there a problem with this? Are you going to kick me out?’… and it’s a shame because I quite like church hopping but I don’t think I’ll do it for a while anyway, just because you feel a bit self-conscious because everyone stares, it’s like getting on a bus holding hands with your girlfriend and everyone stares. (Nicola, 21, Newcastle) 10

Church ‘hopping’ and queer transitions …some Churches absolutely love having you attend and they love to come over and talk to you if you attend, which as a church-hopper I do know quite well that people come over to you, ‘Hello, how are you? I don’t know your name but…’ ‘I’m okay, I’m fine. How are you?’ (Rebecca, 22, Newcastle) 11

Negotiating Christian and Queer Identities … I have often thought about thinking, ‘Well what would it be like if I attended a church that was completely inclusive?’ and I think I would really enjoy it and I think it would be a load off my mind, but at the same time, because I’m quite attached to my own church as it is and I have friends, a lot of support there, I find it really… It meets my needs in terms of sort of prayer and worship, so I’d much rather feel that, as part of that community… (Helen, 20, Newcastle) 12

Making Space for Queer Identifying Religious Youth Yvette Ria 13