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The Lived Religion of Indonesian Gay Male Christians in Partnership
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- Author / Creator
- Ichwan, Juswantori
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This study investigates the ways in which Indonesian gay male Christians in partnership (IGMCPs) make sense of their spiritual lives and develop their lived religion when they try to form and maintain a committed same-sex relationship in a church and a society that disapprove of that relationship. Thirteen IGCMPs participated in the study, which employs an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Lived religion is used as a conceptual framework as its basic tenets take into account the significance of IGCMPs’ lived experience in forming their beliefs and their spirituality. This bottom-up approach offers a new and fresh perspective on discussing the issue of homosexuality and Christian beliefs, beyond the top-down doctrinal approach, which tends to be more conservative. Five themes emerged from the participant interviews. The participants believe that their relationship is not sinful, that their life journey is guided by God, that their partnership is sacred, and that their spirituality grows through the partnership. Furthermore, the participants displayed a lack of enthusiasm for having their relationships blessed as they prioritize their parents’ blessing over spiritual blessing. This finding does not support the assumption that IGCMPs experience a need to have their relationship ritualized or blessed in order for them to properly value that commitment and to empower them to face the negative attitudes of the church and of society. This unenthusiastic attitude toward a relationship blessing is caused by two factors: a deeply ingrained belief in the importance of restu (parents’ blessing) as a key to living in harmony, and the non-cohabitating living arrangement experienced by most IGCMPs, which results in the lack of a sense of permanency in their relationships. This finding shows that in the current situation in Indonesia, IGCMPs do not need and are not asking for a same-sex union ritual. The church can help IGCMPs, therefore, by providing ritual or pastoral care that aims to reconcile IGCMPs with their families.
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2018
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Doctor of Ministry
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.