Tan P Philip
California State University, 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA, 90840-0902, USA.
J Homosex. 2005;49(2):135-44. doi: 10.1300/J082v49n02_08.
Religion is a conduit for expressing spirituality. Since most mainstream religions condemn any form of homosexuality one would expect that gay men and lesbians would have little to do with spirituality. Experts, however, believe that gay and lesbian individuals would especially benefit from spiritual nourishment because of the oppression they face. Using an instrument that measures spiritual well-being, this study investigated the spirituality of 93 gay and lesbian individuals. The findings revealed that respondents espoused high levels of spiritual well-being: how one relates to God (religious well-being) and how one feels about life (existential well-being). Those who identified with a formal religion and who attended religious services frequently espoused higher religious well-being. Respondents with a diagnosis of depression, on the other hand, espoused lower existential well-being. Multiple regression analyses revealed that existential well-being was a significant predictor of adjustment: having high self-esteem, accepting one's homosexual orientation, and feeling less alienated. In contrast, religious well-being was not a significant predictor of any measure of adjustment. These findings point to the importance of the existential aspect of spirituality among gay and lesbian individuals in determining adjustment. They also suggest that being well-adjusted does not entail being reconciled with a traditional religion or with a theistic belief.
宗教是表达精神性的一种途径。鉴于大多数主流宗教谴责任何形式的同性恋行为，人们可能会认为男同性恋者和女同性恋者与精神性没什么关系。然而，专家认为，男同性恋者和女同性恋者尤其能从精神滋养中受益，因为他们面临着压迫。本研究使用一种测量精神幸福感的工具，调查了93名男同性恋者和女同性恋者的精神性。研究结果显示，受访者的精神幸福感水平较高：包括一个人与上帝的关系（宗教幸福感）以及一个人对生活的感受（存在幸福感）。那些认同正规宗教且经常参加宗教仪式的人，其宗教幸福感更高。另一方面，被诊断患有抑郁症的受访者，其存在幸福感较低。多元回归分析表明，存在幸福感是适应状况的一个重要预测指标：拥有高自尊、接受自己的同性恋取向以及较少感到疏离。相比之下，宗教幸福感并非任何适应指标的重要预测指标。这些发现指出了精神性的存在层面在男同性恋者和女同性恋者的适应状况决定中的重要性。它们还表明，良好的适应并不意味着要与传统宗教或有神论信仰和解。
