Religious Disaffiliation and Sexually Minoritised Groups: A Scoping Review of the Literature

Religious teachings and beliefs often convey an understanding of sexuality that excludes and marginalizes sexually minoritised people. This PRISMA-compliant scoping review selected 29 peer-reviewed papers about the religious disaffiliation of sexually minoritised people for full-text analysis and synthesis. With the use of reflexive thematic and bibliometric analysis, the review found that current research highlights the complicated relationship between religious and LGBTQIA+ identities. This relationship often leads individuals to disaffiliate from their religions and, in turn, either reaffiliate with a different faith tradition, remain with the same but under different terms, or stay nonaffiliated indefinitely. Further research is needed to better understand the non-linear and intricate process of disaffiliation that occurs when there is tension between one's religious identity and sexuality, as well as the impact that these pressures have on the mental health and well-being of LGBTQIA+ individuals.