My mom doesn't accept me for me. I am bisexual but she's so christian. How can I get her to understand who I am without the religion included?
2 Answers
Last Updated: 03/30/2020 at 12:37pm
Moderated by
Jessica McDaniel, LPC, LCPC
Licensed Professional Counselor
I have been practicing cognitive behavioral psychotherapy since 2007 with a diverse group of adult clients with various diagnoses, all races, and socioeconomic classes.
Top Rated Answers
While religion has often been traditionally associated to close-mindedness towards LGBT topics, the very heart of the Christian religion and its most basic principles are not in contrast with LGBT realities in any way. You can try to tell your mother how you feel and remind her that the message of Christianism is love, acceptance, respect. Your identity does not prevent you from following the Christian principles of love and not harming others, because who you are and who you love does not harm anyone in anyway, it only lets you experience the joy of love, that love that Jesus set as the "new commandment" in the gospel.
This may always prove tricky, as separating religion and sexuality seems to be a real bone of contention.
I guess it also depends on how open your Mom is to simply having an open conversation? For example, are you also religious?
The 2, sexuality & religion are not mutually exclusive, and one doesn't necessarily have to overshadow the other. I have friends who are gay and strongly Catholic and when they asked how that can be, they say that who they find attractive and who they love has nothing to do with their faith.
And perhaps that's the point they distinguish - they have faith and they know what their religion means to them, but don't feel like they have to take every word from the Bible as doctrine.
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