June 30 is Queer Youth of Faith Day, a holiday founded by the organization Beloved Arise, which describes itself as the “first national organization dedicated to empowering youth to embrace both their faith and their queer identity.”
Research by The Trevor Project shows that one in five LGBTQ+ youths said that religious or spirituality is important or very important to them, and nearly one in four reported engaging in prayer, meditation, or private reflection on their religion on at least a weekly or daily basis. And in a heartening sign, LGBTQ+ youth who rated religion or spirituality as important or very important reported significantly lower rates of symptoms of depression compared to other LGBTQ+ youth.
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Queer Muslim activist Shawn Ahmed reflects on Pride, Orlando, and his faith
“What I doing this Pride is the same thing I do all year round,” activist Shawn Ahmed says, “be Muslim and be gay.”
Even so, LGBTQ+ individuals often feel excluded, dehumanized, and/or persecuted by unaccepting religious communities. So Beloved Arise started Queer Youth of Faith Day to “celebrate LGBTQ+ youth who refuse to accept the tyranny of ‘or’ and [to] join them in proclaiming the power of ‘and.’”
These social media users are also proclaiming the “and” of their identities, asserting themselves as queer and faithful.
Here are their posts:
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Happy L.. G.. B.. T.. Q..
P.r.1.d.e Day!