Department of Psychology and Education, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Pólo IV, 6200-209 Covilhã, Portugal.
School of Nursing, University of São Paulo, São Paulo 01239-020, Brazil.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Sep 2;21(9):1167. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21091167.
Different religious narratives associate same-sex sexuality, in its various manifestations, with moral deviation or sin. Gay men who are socialized in more religious communities appear to experience and internalize greater levels of homonegativity, as well as to present greater indicators of depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to evaluate indicators of perceived homonegativity in the community and internalized, and signs/symptoms of depression reported by Brazilian gay men with a nominal religion and compare them to those reported by Atheists or Agnostics.
Our sample comprised 194 Brazilian gay men, distributed into three groups: Christians (Protestants and Catholics, n = 71; 36.6%); Spiritualists (Kardecists or religions of African origin, n = 52; 26.8%) and Atheists or Agnostics (n = 71; 36.6%). The following measurement instruments were used: sociodemographic questionnaire, Internalized Homophobia Scale and Beck Depression Scale.
High mean scores of depression were verified in all groups, and 60% of the sample presented some level of depression. There was a higher level of self-reported homonegativity among Christians and Spiritualists compared to that reported by Atheists or Agnostics, with the differences between the groups being significant. The regression analysis indicated a significant effect of religion on homonegativity, but not on depression.
Our results suggest that gay men's chronic exposure to non-affirming religious affiliation contexts may harm the construction of a positive gay identity and should be taken into consideration when addressing mental health inequalities of sexual minorities.
不同的宗教叙事将同性性行为及其各种表现形式与道德偏差或罪恶联系在一起。在宗教氛围更浓厚的社区中成长的男同性恋者，似乎经历并内化了更多的同性恋厌恶，同时也表现出更严重的抑郁症状。本研究的目的是评估有宗教信仰和无宗教信仰的巴西男同性恋者对社区感知到的同性恋厌恶的指标，以及他们所报告的内化和抑郁的迹象/症状，并将其与无神论者或不可知论者进行比较。
我们的样本包括 194 名巴西男同性恋者，分为三组：基督教徒（新教徒和天主教徒，n = 71；36.6%）；灵性主义者（卡德克派或非洲起源的宗教，n = 52；26.8%）和无神论者或不可知论者（n = 71；36.6%）。使用了以下测量工具：社会人口学问卷、内化同性恋厌恶量表和贝克抑郁量表。
所有组别的抑郁平均分都很高，60%的样本存在某种程度的抑郁。与无神论者或不可知论者相比，基督教徒和灵性主义者报告的自我同性恋厌恶程度更高，组间差异具有统计学意义。回归分析表明，宗教对同性恋厌恶有显著影响，但对抑郁没有影响。
我们的研究结果表明，男同性恋者长期处于不支持的宗教环境中，可能会损害他们积极的同性恋身份的构建，在解决性少数群体的心理健康不平等问题时，应该考虑到这一点。
