Date of Degree
2025
Degree Name
Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)
Department
Department of Counseling and Higher Education (CAHE)
Director
Kortegast, Carrie
Committee Members
Katy Jaekel; Gudrun Nyunt
Keywords
gay, men, campus climate, lived experiences, religious institution
Abstract
This Dissertation of Practice explores how gay men navigate their identities while attending religiously conservative colleges and universities. These institutions often create conflict between students’ sexual identities and their faith before college life. Rather than focus on the voids or deficit, this study focused on how students are able to feel a sense of belonging through each other, even when support form Faculty and Staff is not always present. Guided by Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory, this study examines how interactions at multiple levels—from peers and faculty to institutional policies and broader society—play an impact in their college experience.
Using a qualitative narrative inquiry design, four gay men who attended a religiously affiliated institutions shared their stories through three semi-structured interviews. This approach made space for reflection, depth of experience and context as participants were able to describe their relationships with faith, their sexuality and sense of belonging. Data were analyzed through in vivo, emotion, and pattern coding to identify recurring themes that preserved participants’ authentic voices through direct quotes.
Findings shows that participants frequently experience conflict between their identities and the religious expectations or ideologies at their institution. Peer support provided some of the most meaningful sources of affirmation, while faculty and administrators were often, but not always, perceived as unsupportive or silent. Despite these challenges, participants expressed a sense of hope—both for personal growth and for institutional change toward more inclusive practices after reflection of their overall experience. Over time, their understanding of faith shifted from what they previously knew to a new sense of self-acceptance, creating space for changes between spirituality and identity.
This study contributes to advancing a sense of belonging by offering recommendations for how religiously affiliated institutions can better support LGBQ students through faculty and staff education, inclusive policy development, and ongoing assessment of campus climate. Perhaps more importantly, this research provides guidance and questions to consider for gay men who are considering attending a religiously conservative institution. Ultimately, this work emphasizes that faith and identity do not have to be mutually exclusive, and that creating truly inclusive campus environments requires intentional leadership, empathy, and commitment to change.
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Christopher, ""I Always Thought That I Could Be Both Gay and Religious, but I Am Not So Sure Anymore": A Conversation of the Lived Experiences of Gay Men at Religious Institutions" (2025). Dissertations of Practice. 95.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-disspractice/95
