Sabrina Hodak grew up in a Modern Jewish Orthodox family but only truly embraced Judaism at age 16, around the same time she understood she was bisexual.
It was an upsetting and confusing time, because the same religious mentors who helped her strengthen her beliefs kept saying her sexuality would conflict with her faith.
“That was very frustrating, because I also knew that a lot of other religious people believed that,” said Hodak, now a 19-year-old psychology major at Florida International University. In her journal, she kept asking, “Can I please just find someone who’s like me — who wants to be religious and is able to embrace their queer identity?”
Hodak found the support she needed by joining Beloved Arise, a Christian nonprofit dedicated to celebrating and empowering LGBTQ youth of faith. It’s one of a number of online groups whose members are sharing their stories during Pride Month as part of a campaign aimed at encouraging others who have been shunned by religious communities.
In video and written testimonies, the young advocates’ message to their peers also comes at a crucial moment for LGBTQ youth as states like Florida and Texas are adopting legislation or policies that critics say marginalize them.
“I want to show that these identities aren’t a contradiction and for younger people to know that there’s hope,” said Hodak who in addition to Beloved Arise belongs to another group, Jewish Queer Youth.
Florida’s legislation, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law by critics, bars instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through the third grade. Supporters say parents, not teachers, should broach these subjects with children; opponents say the law demonizes LGBTQ people by excluding them from classroom lessons and recently sued to block it.
In Texas, meanwhile, the state child welfare agency has been ordered to investigate reports of gender-confirming care for minors as abuse, a directive that opponents say is a first of its kind by any governor amid widespread GOP efforts to restrict transgender rights.
“Texas is definitely one of the hot spots for anti-LGBTQ rights … and that has definitely been really hard, especially given that my faith can also be similar — not the most accepting,” said Roswell Grey, a 16-year-old from Sherman, Texas who identifies as queer and nonbinary and was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Utah-based religion, also…
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