A narrative qualitative research design was used to understand the journeys of three lesbians with Oneness Pentecostal backgrounds who have reconciled their religious beliefs with their sexual orientation. Three participants were selected who met the following criteria: (a) the participant is a lesbian female who (b) grew up in a Oneness Pentecostal church and (c) has reconciled being a lesbian with her religious beliefs, and who is (d) willing to discuss her outing process. These participants were interviewed. The interview questions were submitted to participants prior to the scheduled interviews. The interviews began with an open-ended inquiry. In answer to the research question, the three participants’ stories revealed that reconciliation journeys are unique and complicated. The motivation to embark on a journey of reconciliation of religious beliefs with sexual orientation stemmed from the participants’ same-sex attractions. Further motivators for the participants to explore and reconstruct religious beliefs were feelings of shame and guilt. The participants arrived at a place where they could no longer deny their feelings. As I read the participants’ stories, I analyzed the stories by utilizing the narrative therapy term of “re-authoring.” I found that the three unifying aspects of re-authoring in the participants’ stories were re-authoring religious beliefs, re-authoring definitions of family and re-authoring self.
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","abstract_html":"<p>A narrative qualitative research design was used to understand the journeys of three lesbians with Oneness Pentecostal backgrounds who have reconciled their religious beliefs with their sexual orientation. Three participants were selected who met the following criteria: (a) the participant is a lesbian female who (b) grew up in a Oneness Pentecostal church and (c) has reconciled being a lesbian with her religious beliefs, and who is (d) willing to discuss her outing process. These participants were interviewed. The interview questions were submitted to participants prior to the scheduled interviews. The interviews began with an open-ended inquiry. In answer to the research question, the three participants’ stories revealed that reconciliation journeys are unique and complicated. The motivation to embark on a journey of reconciliation of religious beliefs with sexual orientation stemmed from the participants’ same-sex attractions. Further motivators for the participants to explore and reconstruct religious beliefs were feelings of shame and guilt. The participants arrived at a place where they could no longer deny their feelings. As I read the participants’ stories, I analyzed the stories by utilizing the narrative therapy term of “re-authoring.” I found that the three unifying aspects of re-authoring in the participants’ stories were re-authoring religious beliefs, re-authoring definitions of family and re-authoring self.</p> <p>.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Parker, Karen"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Barbara Herlihy, PhD","Zarus Watson, PhD","Lorilei Cropley, PhD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-12-15T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-12-15T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:29:47Z","subjects":["narrative","re-authoring","religious beliefs","sexual orientation","reconciliation","lesbian","Other Social and Behavioral Sciences","Social Work"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1549","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Barbara Herlihy, PhD","Zarus Watson, PhD","Lorilei Cropley, PhD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Parker, Karen"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["narrative","re-authoring","religious beliefs","sexual orientation","reconciliation","lesbian","Other Social and Behavioral Sciences","Social Work"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1549"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["A narrative qualitative research design was used to understand the journeys of three lesbians with Oneness Pentecostal backgrounds who have reconciled their religious beliefs with their sexual orientation. Three participants were selected who met the following criteria: (a) the participant is a lesbian female who (b) grew up in a Oneness Pentecostal church and (c) has reconciled being a lesbian with her religious beliefs, and who is (d) willing to discuss her outing process. These participants were interviewed. The interview questions were submitted to participants prior to the scheduled interviews. The interviews began with an open-ended inquiry. In answer to the research question, the three participants’ stories revealed that reconciliation journeys are unique and complicated. The motivation to embark on a journey of reconciliation of religious beliefs with sexual orientation stemmed from the participants’ same-sex attractions. Further motivators for the participants to explore and reconstruct religious beliefs were feelings of shame and guilt. The participants arrived at a place where they could no longer deny their feelings. As I read the participants’ stories, I analyzed the stories by utilizing the narrative therapy term of “re-authoring.” I found that the three unifying aspects of re-authoring in the participants’ stories were re-authoring religious beliefs, re-authoring definitions of family and re-authoring self.
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"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Use of Re-authoring to Reconcile Fundamentalist Religious Beliefs with Sexual Orientation: A Narrative Study"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Barbara Herlihy, PhD","Zarus Watson, PhD","Lorilei Cropley, PhD"],"dc:creator":["Parker, Karen"],"dc:description.abstract":["A narrative qualitative research design was used to understand the journeys of three lesbians with Oneness Pentecostal backgrounds who have reconciled their religious beliefs with their sexual orientation. Three participants were selected who met the following criteria: (a) the participant is a lesbian female who (b) grew up in a Oneness Pentecostal church and (c) has reconciled being a lesbian with her religious beliefs, and who is (d) willing to discuss her outing process. These participants were interviewed. The interview questions were submitted to participants prior to the scheduled interviews. The interviews began with an open-ended inquiry. In answer to the research question, the three participants’ stories revealed that reconciliation journeys are unique and complicated. The motivation to embark on a journey of reconciliation of religious beliefs with sexual orientation stemmed from the participants’ same-sex attractions. Further motivators for the participants to explore and reconstruct religious beliefs were feelings of shame and guilt. The participants arrived at a place where they could no longer deny their feelings. As I read the participants’ stories, I analyzed the stories by utilizing the narrative therapy term of “re-authoring.” I found that the three unifying aspects of re-authoring in the participants’ stories were re-authoring religious beliefs, re-authoring definitions of family and re-authoring self.
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"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1549"],"dc:subject":["narrative","re-authoring","religious beliefs","sexual orientation","reconciliation","lesbian","Other Social and Behavioral Sciences","Social Work"],"dc:title":["The Use of Re-authoring to Reconcile Fundamentalist Religious Beliefs with Sexual Orientation: A Narrative Study"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:29:47Z"}