LGBTQ visibility in religion stories and the politics of the religious right
Welcome to the 5th edition of North Carolina Religion Roundup: LGBTQ people of faith, the religious right and more.
Happy Thursday! Thanks for reading the 5th edition of North Carolina Religion Roundup, a newsletter meant to highlight major religion news and trends in the Triangle and greater N.C. My name is Hannah. I’m an education and local government reporter at The Chatham News + Record in Chatham, N.C. and a M.Div. student at Duke Divinity School. (If you’re interested, you can read more about the newsletter and why I was inspired to start it here.)
This week marks the 5th edition of this newsletter and the last of 2021. The next edition will come a week later than usual, as I’ll be enjoying some time off for the holidays. A request: If you’ve appreciated this newsletter or found it interesting, I’d love it if you’d share it, or subscribe if you haven’t already. I’ve really enjoyed writing this newsletter, and reading the feedback and engagement from many of you. Next year, I’d love to collaborate with more faith leaders, readers and other journalists, and think any sharing of the newsletter will go a long way in achieving that!
Thanks for following along. As always, please reach out with any thoughts or feedback. I hope you have a lovely and restful end of the year!
This week:
In Story to Follow, I include takeaways from a recent Poynter article, “The importance of queer visibility in religion reporting.”
In Deep Dive, I look at the political organizing of the Christian right across the state.
And In a Nutshell, I include a list of N.C. religion stories to keep an eye on.
Story to Follow: LGBTQ visibility in religion stories
Nearly half of LGBTQ+ adults identify as being religious, writes Julia Métraux in a Dec. 6 Poynter article, but their stories aren’t proportionally included in religion reporting — that goes for both religious and mainstream publications.
5.3 million LGBTQ adults are religious, according to an October 2020 report from UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, with religious LGBTQ adults found across ages, in every racial-ethnic group, among married and single people and in rural and urban areas. Among LGBTQ adults, those who are older, Black and reside in the South are the most likely to be religious.
Still, a December 2020 report from the Center for American Progress found that “news media coverage of religion and LGBTQ rights more often cites religiously identified sources that oppose LGBTQ equality.” Of the religious traditions represented in that report, “mainline Protestant and Jewish sources expressed the highest shares of positive or pro-LGBTQ sentiment” and “Evangelical Protestant sources and sources who were reported as generically Christian or religious had the highest shares of negative, anti-LGBTQ sentiment.”
More from that CAP report: “Despite the tireless advocacy of a broad coalition of pro-LGBTQ faith activists, the majority of activists/advocates reported in the sample news stories opposed LGBTQ equality. These activists were identified generically as Christian or religious, implying that they represent a broader religious community than their own specific denomination or tradition.
Without news coverage of Pete Buttigieg—the first openly gay major presidential candidate—included in the sample, anti-LGBTQ officials were identified with their personal religious beliefs approximately two times more than pro-LGBTQ officials.”
And, while positive representation is important, the Poynter article says, “publications should not exclude stories on how queer religious people have been harmed by their community” and “there should be a place in religion reporting for queer people who do not feel accepted in more traditional religious settings” — and not just during Pride Month.
Have you read any recent articles that you think tell the stories of religious LGBTQ people well? I’ve included a few below, but would love to update with more (and more recent) N.C.-focused stories, too:
From INDY Week last month: What Happens When a Non-LGBTQ+ Affirming Church-Meets-Coffeeshop Comes to a Particularly Queer Part of Durham? (This report was included in a previous newsletter, but I think the article includes great context on the United Methodist Church’s division regarding beliefs about the marriage and ordination of LGBTQ people, as well as including affirming Christians and UMC churches in the story.
From the News & Observer last summer: ‘Somebody is listening’: Raleigh pastor gets meeting with Biden to talk LGBTQ issues (This story hears from a LGBTQ pastor, Rev. Vance Haywood in Raleigh, regarding the work and issues he cares about, and not only in reaction to anti-LGBTQ rhetoric/policy.)
(I spoke with Rev. Haywood back in April 2020, about his LGBTQ-affirming theology and church, which you can read here if you’d like.)
From the New York Times in 2019: When Religion Leads to Trauma (This article features many interviews with LGBTQ pastors, including N.C. native Kyndra Frazier.)
Deep Dive: Political organizing by the Christian right
Last Wednesday, I attended and reported on a Chatham pastors conference sponsored by the NC Faith and Freedom Coalition held to focus on “threats to our religious freedom today.” The group of about 30, mostly local pastors gathered to commemorate the 230th anniversary of the ratification of the Bill of Rights, specifically the First Amendment’s freedom of religion protections.
The Faith and Freedom coalition is a self-described “nonpartisan organization that supports Biblical principles” working to “connect people of faith to the political process.” Its “Salt and Light Conference” in September featured panels and speeches by many prominent conservatives, including Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn.
Discussion during Wednesday’s event mentioned threats to Christianity, including the fear of retribution for posting beliefs or Bible verses online or on social media platforms, or being unable to pray at work or school.
Though the event was billed around the theme of religious freedom, it primarily focused on the importance of organizing evangelical Christians to vote in officials who will advocate for “biblical principles.” Those principles aren’t explicitly listed on the coalition’s website, but the website lists "our issues" as being pro-life and pro ("traditional") marriage, as well as promoting religious liberty, criminal justice reform, school choice and combating human trafficking.
“We believe that we should be in the public square, holding our faith and upholding our values everywhere,” Grassroots Director Jim Quick said at Wednesday’s event. “That doesn’t mean that we’re disrespectful to others, it doesn’t mean that we don’t listen to others. But we are bold, and we are predictable in our faith.”
As I’ve written in previous newsletters, “family and biblical values” and have historically been used to yield political power since the emergence of the religious right in the 1960s and 1970s. As I’ve also written in prior editions, such values are popular among many evangelicals, and organizations like NC Faith and Freedom are organizing to increase evangelical voter turnout regarding such issues in upcoming elections.
Interestingly, while last Wednesday’s event focused on religious freedoms, a former NC Faith and Freedom event included comments by Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson saying that the U.S. is and has always been a “Christian nation” and inviting those who disagreed to leave the country.
“If you don’t like it, I’ll buy your plane, train, or automobile ticket right up out of here,” he told attendees at the coalition’s September “Salt & Light” event. “You can go to some place that’s not a Christian nation.”
After the event, I asked one of the organizer’s what he made of Robinson’s comments in light of the coalition’s emphasis on religious freedom. Here’s that conversation, from my article for the Chatham News + Record this week:
Though the event I covered was small, the ideas discussed are popular. Some N.C. reporters are doing a really good job covering the politics of the religious right, most notably, in my opinion, NC Policy Watch’s Joe Killian.
Here’s Killian, along with other local spiritual leaders and political analysts, on WRAL’s On The Record earlier this month, discussing religious rhetoric coming from North Carolina's Republican politicians this election cycle. I highly recommend giving it a watch/listen (there’s also a transcript available, if you’d prefer to read).
In a Nutshell:
Op-Ed: We Must Stand in Solidarity With Our Jewish Neighbors to Fight Rising Anti-Semitism (By Nida Allam, Durham County commissioner and candidate for U.S. Congress, for INDY week)
What Low-Wage Workers Understand About the True Meaning of Christmas, by N.C. pastor and activist Rev. William Barber II in TIME Magazine
Rev. Barber’s 2019 conviction for trespassing at legislature will stand, appeals court says, the N&O reports
Durham’s Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church is collecting funds for tenants at Braswell Properties after the owner sold the property and gave the residents a 30-day notice to be out by Dec. 31. (“Tenant Support” from the drop-down menu in previous link)
Faith leaders arrested Dec. 13 while protesting in support of Build Back Better bill, including N.C. leaders, by Religion News Service and 24 inmates awarded BA degree in pastoral ministry will serve NC prisons as ministers
Targeting the opioid crisis, NC lawmakers give $10M to new church ministry, NC Health News reported. Addiction experts say lawmakers should be spending money on established programs providing evidence-based treatment.
From Triad City Beat: State lawmakers fund Winston-Salem crisis pregnancy center Salem Pregnancy Center $255,000 as part of 2021-22 budget. According to their website, the center does not provide abortions, nor do they refer people to abortion providers.
National freedom from Religion Foundation wants Bible quote removed from NC building. Columbus County Sheriff says: I will not waver, N&O reports
That's it for this week's edition of North Carolina Religion Roundup. Thanks for reading. Until next time (and year!). And in the meantime, I gladly welcome any tips, feedback or news you think I haven’t included but should in future editions. — Hannah
This post was updated after publication to correct that NC Faith and Freedom is pro-life, not pro-choice.