My girlfriend and I have been together since January 2010. This is the first same sex relationship for both of us. We both also come from very strict Christian conservative families. We want to be free to be "us" but are very scared and nervous about coming out to our families. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Coming out to my girlfriend's religious parents was extremely hard, their response at first was for us to go to church and speak with the pastor. Don't take your parent's first responses as final. It will take time for them to understand. It is a process and you must be patient.
One word: Patience! My parents are also religious and conservative and I just recently came out to them. The process has been very slow and there have been a lot of passionate arguments. So while it differs for each family, I'll share the general themes I observed. - Don't throw too much on them at once. Give them a chance to digest it slowly. You might want to hold off on mentioning your girlfriend to them, at least in the initial conversation. - Tell them it isn't their fault. They might not believe the "born this way" argument. My parents sure didn't initially. You may need to explain to them how this has been a part of you for a very long time, and that it has nothing to do with how they raised you. - They may try to change you. As Christians they will certainly view it as a sin, and they will probably be fearing for your soul. It's easy to get upset by religious attacks, so I recommend trying your best to be patient here. I don't know what your personal religious beliefs are, but I think it is best to try to imagine things from your parents perspective. If they fight you on this, it is because they love you and want to help. Accept that this probably won't be resolved right away. After three weeks my mom is still very upset and says she won't budge at all on her religious views towards homosexuality. My dad isn't much better, although he has his moments where he is making progress. In any case, you may have to agree to disagree for at least a while. I wish you the best of luck. Be sure to keep us updated on any future developments!
Conservative has nothing to do with it, it is how open minded they are. It is the close minded liberal/conservative (people) who are the problem. An open minded, thinking person will figure it out.
