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    • Gay LIfe in Pre-Castro Cuba/Homophobia/What's In a Name? Part 1
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  • We Believe?
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      • Praying the Gay Away
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      • Responses: Acceptance
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      • Investigations
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We Believe?
LGBTQ+ Religious Experiences in Central PA

Coming Out to Religious Family

In their stories of coming out to religious family, many people interviewed expressed varying levels of acceptance from family, which often changed over time. Some experienced rejection from family members, were told they would go to hell and were cut off. Many experienced confusion, assertions of “love the sinner but hate the sin,” and family who did not outright reject them but refused to talk about it. Others experienced tolerance which over time turned to acceptance and even advocacy, such as Phil Wenger, who initially experienced tolerance from his father, a Mennonite pastor. Ultimately his father became a “soldier for gay weddings” within the Mennonite church.
He looked at me and he said, “Well, you realize you’re going to go to hell, don’t you?”  And I looked at him, equally as serious, and said, “Well, you don’t have to worry, because you didn’t cause it, and it’ll be me going, not you.” – Marlene Kanuck, 2013
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  • Home
  • The Long Road
    • Beginning
    • Philadelphia >
      • Philadelphia Part 2
    • Harrisburg
    • Lancaster
    • York
    • Allentown
    • Montgomery >
      • Montgomery Part 2
    • Work Continues >
      • Acknowledgments
  • With Open Hearts & Open Arms
    • Gay LIfe in Pre-Castro Cuba/Homophobia/What's In a Name? Part 1
    • What's in a Name? Part 1 Continued/UMAP/Mattachine Society
    • Leftist Gays in the US/The Mariel Boatlift
    • The Mariel Boatlift Part 2/Resettlement Camps
    • Resettlement Continued/Press Coverage
    • Immigration/What's In a Name? Part 2
    • LGBTQ+ Organizing
    • The Mariel Generation/Life in PA
    • The Eromin Center/Impact of AIDS
    • AIDS in Cuba/LGBTQ+ Rights in Cuba
    • Acknowledgements
  • Stories of Discrimination
    • Hate Crimes >
      • Anita Bryant
      • Escalating Violence
      • Appalachian Trail
      • Bookstore Bombings
    • Employment Discrimination >
      • Blacklisted
      • "Moral Turpitude"
      • Elected
      • Traumatized and penalized
    • Transgender Discrimination
    • Housing and Property Discrimination >
      • Vision of Hope MCC
    • Conclusion
  • We Believe?
    • Early Expereriences >
      • Praying the Gay Away
    • Coming Out
    • LGBTQ+ Groups >
      • Religious Life
      • Social Life
      • Political Life
    • Faith and Identity
    • LGBTQ+ Clergy
    • Responses: Backlash >
      • Responses: Acceptance
    • Looking Forward
  • Duty, Honor, Pride
    • Vietnam War Era >
      • Investigations
    • Post-Vietnam Experiences
    • Closing >
      • Citations
  • Other Resources