Jonathan Coogan '10, a gay student who grew up in an accepting Catholic family, said he has never before been presented with an opportunity to discuss the roles of sexuality in religion with others. Coogan decided to attend the even because he had never set aside time to explore his identification as a homosexual in the context of his religion.
The meeting's goal was to create a space to encourage discourse about sexuality and religion in a comfortable, intimate environment, facilitators Kurt Nelson, the adviser to multi-faith programs at the College, and Adam Holt '09 said.
Judy Williams, the campus's Quaker minister, said that coming out as homosexual and the growth of her faith in religion occurred around the same time. What drives her to be passionate in relationships and what inspires her passion for spirituality are governed by the same feelings of love, she said.
"God's love is something I found unable to deny in my own life," Williams said.
Love should be seen as synonymous with sexuality, according to Coogan. He and the other group members discussed how love and relationships are defined by biology.
Nelson noted that spiritual or scientific communities do not address many of the components of a healthy sexual relationship, Nelson noted.
"Sexuality is about much more than behavior," he said.
Nelson said he believes feelings of spirituality and sexuality "come from the same place."
Many students at the event said they have trouble fitting into any particular religious model. A number of students also questioned the extent to which the Bible should be taken literally and the extent to which it should be seen as a loose guide.
Holt experienced these issues as he has watched the Protestant Church struggle with a balance between tradition and the realities of today's world, he said.
"How much honesty and freedom do we take to our faith community?" he said. "How much are we called to tradition?"
A lot of dialogue is focused on the divide between those who interpret the Bible literally and those who do not, as opposed to finding a common ground between the two perspectives, Taylor Thompson '08 said.
"Many people are easily offended and don't want to engage," he added.
The group is not exclusive to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community, the facilitators said.
Nelsons is straight, he said, but identifies, along with a few other members of Q-Faith, as an "ally" to the queer cause.
"An ally is someone who works intentionally in conjunction with the queer community to work for equal rights and opportunities," he explained.
Nelson's inspiration to become an ally stemmed from his relationship with a high school friend who was shunned by his religious community upon coming out as gay, he said.
Later, when Nelson was in divinity school, he said he was deeply upset when he realized that most animosity towards the LGBTQ community stemmed from the church.
A handful of students attended Tuesday's event.
