From Sodomy to Sympathy: LDS Elites' Discursive Construction of Homosexuality Over Time

In this article, we examine how leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) discursively constructed homosexuality over the last 50 years. Based on textual analysis of LDS talks, magazines, and other publications, we analyze how LDS elites, responding to shifting historical, cul...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Cragun, Ryan T. (Autor) ; Sumerau, J. E. (Autor)
Otros Autores: Williams, Emily (Otro)
Tipo de documento: Electrónico Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
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Publicado: Wiley-Blackwell [2015]
En: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Año: 2015, Volumen: 54, Número: 2, Páginas: 291-310
(Cadenas de) Palabra clave estándar:B USA / Mormones / Elite / Discurso / Homosexualidad / LGBT / Historia 1954-2013
Clasificaciones IxTheo:CH Cristianismo y sociedad
KAJ Época contemporánea
KBQ América del Norte
KHD Otras Iglesias  
NCF Ética sexual
Otras palabras clave:B religion and sexuality
B religious elites
B Homosexuality
B social inequalities
B discursive work
B Mormonism
Acceso en línea: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Descripción
Sumario:In this article, we examine how leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) discursively constructed homosexuality over the last 50 years. Based on textual analysis of LDS talks, magazines, and other publications, we analyze how LDS elites, responding to shifting historical, cultural, and religious interpretations of sexualities, discursively constructed homosexuality as problematic for (1) society from the 1950s to the 1990s, (2) the family from the 1970s to present, and (3) divinely inspired gender roles from the 1980s to present. Further, we show how LDS elites softened their rhetoric in the 1990s, and in so doing, established a new discursive construction of homosexuality as an ailment requiring sympathetic treatment. Throughout our analysis, we also examine how LDS elites accomplished such discursive work in response to shifting societal and religious attitudes concerning sexual minorities. In conclusion, we draw out implications for understanding how religious elites discursively construct sexual norms, the reciprocal relationship between sexual and religious discourse and advocacy, and the importance of examining how dominant religious discourses change over time.
ISSN:1468-5906
Obras secundarias:Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/jssr.12180