Writing Guide Part 4

Reconciling Faith With Sexuality

This month we offer you part four of our six-part writing guide series. If you are just joining us, we’ve been workshopping the writing of our stories since January in preparation for the June 30, 2015 submission deadline. We recommend going back and to Writing Guide 1 and reading these guides in succession for the best story results.

Another significant obstacle preventing LGBT people from coming out is an inability to reconcile religious faith with sexuality. Religion and spirituality can be an extremely important part of being successful in law enforcement in terms of keeping an officer grounded or centered. Unfortunately, for many LGBT people, when they are unable to reconcile their faith and sexuality, they make a decision to abandon their faith entirely simply to be able to accept themselves.

Religion may or may not have been a part of your own experience. If you did not grow up in a religion or do not practice one now, you can take this month off. You are also more than welcome to share any thoughts you have about this aspect of life. But if religion was a part of your life growing up (and or still is), take some time to consider the following questions:

What happened with your faith when you discovered your were L,G,B, or T?
What messaging did you hear from your religious leaders about being LGBT?
How did you reconcile your faith with your sexuality?
How does your faith support you now as a law enforcement professional who is also part of the LGBT community?
Did religion create conflict with your family and friends or prevent you from being accepted after coming out?

Next month we will talk about how to wrap up your story and how to offer advice for readers.