Many members of the LGBTQ+ community struggle to reconcile their sexuality or gender identity with religious beliefs. In the past, the Roman Catholic Church has not been known for its open-mindedness. In fact, queer Christians are twice as likely to leave the Church, a 2020 American study in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion found. That poses the question of whether it is at all possible to feel good about being religious and queer.

The answer to this question is a clear ‘Yes’ for Junia, 38, (she/her) and oblate Sr. Micha, 30, (they/them). An oblate is neither a monk nor a nun but a layperson who has individually affiliated themselves in prayer with a Benedictine monastery of their choice.

Both are activists from the German initiative #OutInChurch who fight for queer rights and visibility within the Roman Catholic Church.

On January 24, 2022, a documentary titled Wie Gott uns schuf – Coming Out in der katholischen Kirche (How God created us – Coming Out in the Catholic Church) aired on the German TV channel ARD. It follows the stories of five #OutInChurch group members.

In #OutInChurch’s unprecedented campaign, 125 Church employees publicly came out together as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex or non-binary, to call for an end to the Roman Catholic Church’s discrimination against queer people.

Among the people watching was Sr. Micha. “I saw the documentary and was totally amazed”, they remembered. As a queer Catholic, the stories resonated with them and sparked a process of reflection.

At that time, Sr. Micha was halfway through the process of becoming an oblate. They said that deciding to come out was nerve-wracking. Years before, they came out as asexual, resulting in acephobic comments and rejection within their Catholic circle. They were therefore bracing themselves for a similar experience.

However, the fear was unnecessary. Their convent supports their non-binary identity and asexuality, they told GCN. One of the first people to congratulate them was a brother of the monastery.

Junia is Christian, but not Catholic. She has been out as aromantic/asexual and trans for a while now and is in a lesbian relationship. “Not just the Catholic but every Christian Church would profit from becoming more open,” she said.

Despite no real improvement in Roman Catholic LGBTQ+ people’s situation globally and no major changes announced by the Vatican, improvements within parishes, their congregations and youth groups are visible on a local level. “For everyday life as a Catholic, it is way more important what happens within one’s own community than what Rome says,” she told GCN.

But why did the two, unlike so many others, choose to remain in the Church? Junia drew a comparison to a football club: “There are good and bad players on the field. The management needs to be exchanged completely. But the fanbase is fantastic and why do I go to matches? Mostly to see all the people who are standing in the stands with me, my community. They are more important than the players on the field and even more important than the management.

“If our club gets relegated, we can leave and surrender it to idiots or we can fight for change.” She believes that the Church and faith’s power and message are too precious to surrender to queerphobes. “I understand everyone who decides to leave but if everyone does, what will remain is an even worse mess.”

Sr. Micha agreed: “Just because I chose this Christian community doesn‘t mean that I don‘t want to change it and that’s what I stand up and am loud for.” They knew that being queer is willed by God. “It was a much bigger challenge to be part of this Church and not to be out than to be queer.”

If any LGBTQ+ people are struggling to balance faith and queer identity, the activists recommend networking with other religious LGBTQ+ community members through organisations and groups like #OutInChurch, Global Network of Rainbow Catholics, We Are Church Ireland or Amach le Dia. These can help to find local queer religious groups or individuals to connect with and discuss struggles, learn from each other or attend mass together, online or in person.

Reading queer theological and queer feminist texts proves useful as well. They feature current interpretations of the Hebrew Bible and contest translations of Bible passages that are used to justify queerphobia. Those passages might have had a purpose and made sense for people alive in the biblical age but not for societies these days, Junia found.

The literal translation and other possible interpretations can show how the original phrasing can be read in a queer-friendly way. For people unfamiliar with Hebrew, Sr. Micha recommends the translation tool ‘Interlinear Bible’. Below the original wording is a literal translation with a link to each word’s other possible meanings and in which contexts the word appears elsewhere in the Bible.

Their last tip is to limit interactions with people who are unsupportive or toxic.

The harm done to many queer people by the Church has created prejudices the other way around, too. Junia must often justify herself in queer circles for being religious: “Sometimes I wish I could just chat without the prejudices, clichés and questions. I‘m always a messenger for either side.”

Still, she said that her faith makes her know that despite all the challenges and hostility she faces almost everywhere, God loves her as she is and with him, she has a safe harbour and support.