Christian Sexual Ethics and Everyday Sacredness: Voices of Young Black People with Diverse Sexual Identities

Christian ethics are often associated with dichotomies such as right versus wrong, good versus evil, and moral versus immoral. How do young Black people with diverse sexual identities who also embrace Christianity understand such ethics? What constitutes Christian ethics for people who live on the margins and are often vilified for their racial and sexual identities? This mixed-methodological study considers these questions for a group of 76 young Black members of the LGBTQIA community aged 18–30 years old. The study is also designed to theorize and apply the concept of everyday sacredness as an ethos to illuminate the religious and spiritual experiences of Black sexual minorities. Three themes emerge that focus on ethical expectations. The initial theme reflects common questions about historic and present-day unethical practices in certain Black churches linked to homophobia and heterosexism found in current studies. The second, more spiritually focused theme, presents agape love as an ethical response to all God’s creation. The final practically focused theme emphasizes holistic health as an ethical response to health inequities in the Black LGBTQIA community.