{"id":6856,"date":"2024-10-31T08:39:54","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T08:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/?p=6856"},"modified":"2024-10-31T08:39:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T08:39:54","slug":"luke-evans-memoir-shows-why-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-gay-jehovahs-witness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/index.php\/luke-evans-memoir-shows-why-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-gay-jehovahs-witness\/","title":{"rendered":"Luke Evans\u2019 memoir shows why there\u2019s no such thing as a gay Jehovah\u2019s\u00a0Witness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chris Greenough<\/a>, Edge Hill University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Hollywood actor Luke Evans writes candidly in his memoir<\/a> about his experience growing up as a Jehovah\u2019s Witness<\/a> \u2013 and having to deal with religious and homophobic prejudice. <\/p>\n

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Evans describes a childhood where he was taunted by peers as a \u201cBible-basher\u201d, and how he endured homophobic bullying. He writes:<\/p>\n

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I was bullied for being gay before I even understood what it meant. The worst nickname was \u201cJovey Bender\u201d, because it combined two aspects of my identity that could never be reconciled. It wasn\u2019t possible to be a \u201cJovey\u201d and a \u201cBender\u201d because being gay was strictly forbidden by the religion.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As an academic who works on religion and sexualities, my latest research<\/a> focuses on gay ex-Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses. <\/p>\n

The Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, known for their door-knocking evangelising, pique interest because of the closed nature of their group. They are a fundamentalist and apocalyptic religious group organised into congregations, overseen by male elders \u2013 women are not permitted to be elders. <\/p>\n

They refer to their beliefs and teachings as \u201cthe Truth\u201d. There is a governing body<\/a>, known as The Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, which establishes all doctrine.<\/p>\n

Condemnation<\/h2>\n

The Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses have a distinctive social world. It\u2019s an exclusive religious group that tries to set itself apart from contemporary society and culture. Research refers<\/a> to Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses<\/a> as a \u201chigh cost\u201d religious group<\/a>, which means it demands a high level of obedience from its followers \u2013 and homosexuality is condemned. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Evans\u2019 interview follows two other memoirs by gay ex-Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses. In 2020, Mendez\u2019s semi-autobiographical book Rainbow Milk<\/a> was released to critical acclaim<\/a>. Three years later, Daniel Allen Cox\u2019s<\/a> memoir detailed the ways growing up as a Jehovah\u2019s Witness shaped him<\/a>: \u201cI spent eighteen years in a group that taught me to hate myself. You cannot be queer and a Jehovah\u2019s Witness \u2013 it\u2019s one or the other.\u201d <\/p>\n

Cox has a point. The reason these gay men are considered ex-Witnesses is that technically, one cannot be LGBTQ+ and a Jehovah\u2019s Witness. As the official means of sharing Jehovah\u2019s Witness beliefs, the magazine The Watchtower<\/a> explains:<\/p>\n

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They gladly conduct Bible studies with homosexuals so these can learn Jehovah\u2019s requirements, and such persons may attend meetings of the Witnesses to listen, but no one who continues to practice homosexuality can be one of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Evans\u2019 interview recounts how he was terrified to go door knocking with his parents, in case one of his school bullies answered and hurled abuse at him. The teachings from the Witnesses affected his wellbeing. He recounts:<\/p>\n

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Every night in the congregation they read scriptures saying terrible things about the way I was feeling and who I was possibly turning into. All that was in my head was: if I don\u2019t sort this out, I\u2019m going to lose my mum and dad. I\u2019m going to lose everything I\u2019ve ever known and I\u2019m also going to die at Armageddon, so I\u2019m giving myself a death sentence unless I sort this out.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Importance of ex-member testimony<\/h2>\n

The only documented experiences we have about growing up LGBTQ+ as a Jehovah\u2019s Witness comes from former members, like Evans, who have left \u2013 or been forced to leave.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a double bind here. There is a history of resistance to accounts from those who have been forced to leave, often referred to as \u201capostates\u201d by the Witnesses<\/a>. Ex-member testimony has often \u2013 and wrongly, I argue \u2013 been discredited among scholars of religion, as I highlight in my recent research<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Most importantly for LGBTQ+ people, ex-member testimony is the only glimpse we get into the effect of religious teaching that is hostile to non-heterosexual identities.<\/p>\n

For LGBTQ+ former Witnesses, biography and memoir is a tool that allows them to write themselves into existence. Others, who are negotiating or navigating an exit from a high-cost religion, need these stories to help make sense of their own lives and experiences. <\/p>\n

Making an exit<\/h2>\n

The method of exit is important. The terms \u201cdisfellowshipping\u201d, \u201cdisassociation\u201d, and \u201cfading\u201d represent different methods of exiting a religious organisation. Disfellowshipping involves the forced removal of a congregation member, often resulting in their ostracism and shunning by the community. <\/p>\n

Jehovah\u2019s Witness teachings describe<\/a> disfellowshipping as a \u201cloving provision\u201d that \u201cprotects the clean, Christian congregation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Disassociation is when a Witness voluntarily resigns from the organisation, typically through a formal written request. For LGBTQ+ people, disfellowshipping or disassociation often leads to being labelled as \u201csexually immoral\u201d, resulting in their expulsion and subsequent shunning by the congregation, including their close friends and family. <\/p>\n

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