Community Map

COMMUNITY GUIDELINES

01. The religious, ethical, and spiritual communities on our map are thoroughly vetted by Beloved Arise staff members. It is incredibly important to us that we only uplift communities that are safe, affirming, and celebratory spaces for queer people, especially queer youth. 

02. In order to be considered for inclusion on the map, communities must have a clear statement of affirmation on their website, submit 1-3 paragraphs about how they embody affirmation, and sign a commitments document. These commitments clarify that their practices are in line with our definitions of youth safety and affirmation, especially in offering all rituals and practices to all people, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. 

03. There are a small number of communities that we have added to our map with a caveat statement. These communities wish to offer all rituals and practices to everyone; however, they are part of denominations, or sects, which, at this time, do not allow certain practices (usually ordination and/or marriage) to be offered to all queer people. The reason we have allowed these communities to join the map is that they are active in protesting these discriminatory practices within their traditions and would perform these ceremonies if they did not face significant consequences for doing so. We also recognize the importance of uplifting these more affirming communities to queer youth from these faith traditions.

04. Our most important value is protecting and celebrating queer youth of faith. If you have questions about this policy or whether your community is a good fit for the Community Map, please reach out to hello@belovedarise.org. 

Here are a few steps your community can take to be more affirming for queer youth of faith?

JOIN A QUEER-AFFIRMING GROUP THAT IS AFFILIATED WITH YOUR TRADITION:

Many religious, ethical, and spiritual traditions have organizations that are dedicated to working towards queer affirmation and full inclusion in the life and work of the tradition. If your community wants to start doing the work of creating safe and celebratory spaces for queer folx, organizations like these are a great place to start. Many of them offer training and other resources to help with these conversations, and some require a significant vote of affirmation from community members in order to fully join. 

Some examples include: New Wave Ministries (Catholic Church), Keshet (Judaism), and Reconciling Ministries (United Methodist Church).

DO AN AUDIT OF YOUR COMMUNITY PRACTICES AND MAKE A PLAN FOR CHANGE:

There are so many things that can make a queer person feel welcome and affirmed, or not. Review the way that your community operates and seek out help in becoming more affirming. This is something a tradition-specific organization may be able to support you with!

Some questions may include:

• Are our translations of texts queer affirming, or do they use outdated and isolating language?

• Do we use gender-neutral/expansive language in guided meditations, sermons, prayers, or readings?

  • If your community uses more than one language, is this true for all languages?

• Does our space have gender neutral bathroom options?

• Are forms and paperwork gender neutral, including for youth programs? 

• Is our community able/willing to call a queer or trans person to leadership? Can queer and trans people serve on committees, teach youth, speak at services?

• Are we part of a tradition or denomination that restricts the ability of queer and trans folx to fully participate in all aspects of religious/spiritual life? If so, are we a part of movements to change this?

• Does our community’s affirmation of queer and trans people change if they are in an active same-sex relationship or pursuing a social and/or medical gender transition?

• How will we protect queer and trans community members if homophobia or transphobia occurs in our community?
  
  

ADD A STATMENT OF AFFIRMATIO TO YOUR WEBSITE:

This is an important step if your community is genuinely affirming. Many queer folx have experienced harm from other religious/spiritual institutions and communities, so they look for clear signs of affirmation before considering a new space.

LEVERAGE YOUR ROLE AS A RELIGIOUS/SPIRITUAL LEADER TO FIGHT FOR QUEER AND TRANS RIGHTS:

Your role as a lay or ordained leader in a religious, ethical, or spiritual community has power when it comes to advocating for change. Use that positionality to advocate for queer and trans rights.

CELEBRATE PRIDE MONTH:

While it’s important to affirm queer youth of faith all year, many communities see Pride Month as a special opportunity to host programming that affirms, celebrates, and uplifts queer community members. For example, some communities host special pride services, march in their local pride parade, or dedicate community fundraising for the month towards queer nonprofits.

PUT SYMBOLS OF AFFIRMATION AROUND YOUR SPACE:

If your community has a physical space, consider adding some symbols of affirmation like a pride flag, a Keshet Safe Space sticker, or a copy of your statement of affirmation. That way, folx who enter your space are aware of your commitment to protecting and celebrating queer people. 

Note: a flag is just a symbol – it loses its meaning when it’s not supported by active work towards queer affirmation and celebration.

**This resource is not a comprehensive list of all ways to be affirming – if you have other ideas or feedback, please email us at hello@belovedarise.org. 

Is your community working on a statement for their website that describes its affirmation and celebration of queer folx? Here are some pointers we hope are helpful as you start.

“Affirm”:

At Beloved Arise, we consider this word to be best practice and the core of these statements. Lots of communities “welcome” or “include” LGBTQIA+ folx (including non-affirming communities), but communities that affirm queer folx are saying that they celebrate them in all of their identities. 

Recognize trauma:

Many queer people have experienced religious or spiritual trauma from experiences with non-affirming communities. The more specific, honest, and intentional your statement is, the more comfortable queer folx will feel in your space.

Make it prominent: 

Make sure your statement is in a clear, findable place on your website. For many, the best place is the homepage, but others have a clearly labeled tab that leads to a separate page. Either is fine, just make sure folks can access it without too much effort. And consider other places where you can display your statement, like an order of service, e-newsletter, or on a bulletin board in your space.

Highlight your reasons why:

Are there particular frameworks in your religious, ethical, or spiritual tradition that call you to be affirming? Does your community engage with sacred texts through lenses that point towards queer affirmation? Highlight these reasons in your statement.

Name the ways you show up: 

Some queer folx have been harmed by religious communities which used welcoming language but later denied them access to parts of the tradition (ex. marriage or leadership). Name the ways in which your community shows up for the LGBTQIA+ community and actively includes queer people in all aspects of religious/spiritual life, so there’s no doubt about what your affirmation means and looks like.

You can name that queer folx have access to all rituals/ceremonies, including marriage, lay and ordained leadership, and other life cycle rituals which may be relevant to your tradition. And, if you offer any ceremonies for queer folx at moments like coming out, gender transition, or name changes, this is a great place to highlight that!

Other examples include: 

• Using gender neutral language to refer to the Divine and community members (in any/all languages used for worship)

• Hosting pride programming or queer groups in your community

• Tabling/walking in your local pride parades

• Having queer and trans leaders

• Belonging to an affirming group in your tradition or denomination

• Attending a training on LGBTQ+ affirmation

• Lobbying at the state or local level for queer and trans rights

We love the ways these communities exemplify this in their statements!: Temple Sinai Reno, Temple Beth El Santa Cruz


If it’s been a long time, say so!

If your community has been affirming for a long time, say so! While we of course celebrate being newly affirming, if your community has had queer leadership, celebrated same-sex marriages, or affirmed trans+ community members for over a decade, add that statistic to your statement. That’s just another green flag that will let queer folx know that they can trust your community.

Be thoughtful about what you welcome:

Many communities write their statement of LGBTQ+ affirmation as part of a longer statement that describes that truly all are welcome in their community, often explicitly uplifting members of other marginalized groups. We love statements like this (after all, queerness and affirmation does not exist in a vacuum!), but one thing to be careful about is to not implicitly welcome bigotry or homophobia. 

For example, we do not recommend explicitly welcoming ideologies that are harmful to queer people or naming political parties as part of your statement. However, we love statements that welcome and support allies who are on and beginning their journeys.

For example, we love the way that this church, Jubilee ATX, addresses this in their statement.

Finally, if you’re not quite there yet, be honest:

We know that some communities have taken considerable steps towards being more affirming, and we applaud that! However, if your community is not yet able to offer full participation in all aspects of religious/spiritual life to queer members (including marriage and ordination/leadership) or does not feel confident in your ability to protect queer folx from queerphobia, homophobia, and transphobia in your spaces, please be honest about that. 

If your community is a part of a denomination or tradition that does not allow leaders to perform same-sex marriages (or otherwise discriminates against the queer community), be upfront in your statement and highlight the ways that you are actively working to change those discriminatory policies. 

If your community is publishing this statement as a response to homophobia or transphobia perpetrated within your community, consider how you will protect future queer and trans people who visit your space from the same harm.

You never know when visiting your community is a queer person’s last effort at being a part of organized religion/spirituality after facing rejection and hatred. So, make sure your statement is an accurate representation of the space that you are welcoming queer folx into.