Because my family is religious I have to go to a school that also teaches us about our religion(I would tell you which religion to prove how bad my problem is but the code of conduct said not to). Well, the Bishop comes in every now and then to talk about all the sins, he mentions homosexuality a lot, he's telling us that it is a sin. It tends to get me down, and because I haven't come out to anyone at school, so it makes me self concious about if they will find out and make fun of me because of what the bishop says. Do you have any advice on to deal with this?
I don't really know what to say in the way of advice to you, since when I was in a similar situation to this, I left the religious and didn't go back. I just kept telling myself that there wasn't anything wrong with me, I was born this way, and I wouldn't change it. Hope this helps you
Try to remember that this person is either simply ignorant or mean spirited or both. If your peers do find out about you and make fun of you. Know that you DO NOT deserve that, it's unacceptable that people treat others like that and tell someone. Even if all you can do is use your peers for social support in that situation, that's still probably better than isolating.
Just ignore them. Religious sexual "ethics" are bullshit anyway. Do you honestly think your straight brethren are listening to him when he says to wait until marriage in the same breath? :lol: i put up with four years of that bullhockey myself...you can too.
To me, spirituality is all about *your* relationship with the *divine*...not your relationship with your church, your religion, its rules or beliefs, or whatever. Ultimately, you have to be able to live with *yourself* and be satisfied that you are a good person...the best you can be...and that's between you and whatever divinity has meaning to you. Sometimes a church or religion can help a person get closer to that divinity...sometimes they get in the way. This sounds like one of those latter cases. So work on the relationship that means something to you...don't let this kill your sense of spirituality (if you have or want a sense of spirituality). But what to do with the negative messages. My first instinct is to say ignore them completely...but this is a school, and they are there to teach you things. I think, however, that you need to hear what they are saying in the proper context: this is how the _______ faith feels about homosexuality, and this is the position of this church. That is academic material, not personal material. They aren't lying to you. But just because the _______ faith thinks such-and-such about sexuality doesn't mean they are right...in fact, this says nothing about *you* whatsoever...it's a statement about them. So I would recommend that when they make statements about *you* (you're a bad person if you _________), simply translate them into objective statements (the _________ church feels _________ about this), and learn *those* facts...at the very least so that you can give correct answers on exams. I hope this helps.
Hm.. as far as what you can do.. I know I'm gonna get yelled at for this, but: stay in the closet. If he doesn't know, he won't call you out for it.
If I'm right about what religion your school is, then you should also be aware that homosexuality is part of a longstanding discussion within the faith, and not everyone thinks it's a bad thing. There are several books and such to check out to fill in the other side of the debate, if you're interested.
