“Put the Jesuit Out Front”: How a Catholic,Jesuit University Addresses LGBQ Issues

Abstract

The campus climate for LGBQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer) communities in higher education has improved, but not necessarily at religiously affiliated institutions. This case study explores how faculty, staff, and students at a Jesuit, Catholic university address LGBQ issues through interviews, participant observation, and document review. Findings revealed that participants employed a variety of tactics adapted for the Catholic higher education context like Safe Space programming, opportunities for intellectual discourse, and leveraging the curriculum. To navigate institutional power dynamics, participants utilized framing issues as congruent with the university’s mission and engaged influential allies like Jesuit priests. This study holds implications for navigating organizational power dynamics in higher education and addressing the tension posed by addressing LGBQ issues on religiously affiliated campuses.

Keywords

grassroots leadership activism Catholic higher education LGBTQ power dynamics

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

The Association of Theological Schools. (n.d.). Denominational list. Retrieved from http://www.ats.edu/member-schools/denominational-search

The Cardinal Newman Society. (2018). About. Retrieved from https://newmansociety.org/about/

Catholic Church. (1994). Catechism of the Catholic Church. Liguori, MO: Liguori.

Charmaz

(2006). Constructing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Coley

J. S.

(2017). Reconciling religion and LGBT rights. Social Currents, 4, 87–106. doi:10.1177/2329496516651639

Coley

J. S.

(2018). Gay on God’s campus: Mobilizing for LGBT equality at Christian colleges and universities. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Creed

W. E. D.

Scully

M. A.

(2000). Songs of ourselves: Employees’ deployment of social identity in workplace encounters. Journal of Management Inquiry, 9, 391–412. doi:10.1177/105649260000900410

Crenshaw

(1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford Law Review, 43, 1241–1299. doi:10.2307/1229039

Culhane

J. G.

(2015). After marriage equality, what’s next for relationship recognition. South Dakota Law Review, 60, 375–388. Retrieved from https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/sdlr60&i=407

10.

Currie

C. L., S.J

. (2010). Some distinctive features of Jesuit higher education today. Journal of Catholic Higher Education, 29, 113–129.

11.

Currie

C. L., S.J

. (2011). Pursuing Jesuit, Catholic identity and mission at U.S. Jesuit colleges and universities. Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice, 14, 346–357.

12.

DeBernardo

Shine

(2018). The many faces of Pope Francis: A five-year timeline of his LGBT record. Retrieved from https://www.newwaysministry.org/resources/pope-francis-lgbt-issues/

13.

Dutile

F. N.

(1988). God and gays at Georgetown: Observations on Gay Rights Coalition of Georgetown University Law Center v. Georgetown University. Journal of College and University Law, 15(1), 1–20. Retrieved from files/1363/eric.ed.gov.html

14.

Finlay

Walther

C. S.

(2003). The relation of religious affiliation, service attendance, and other factors to homophobic attitudes among university students. Review of Religious Research, 44, 370–393. doi:10.2307/3512216

15.

Frawley-O’Dea

M. G.

(2004). The history and consequences of the sexual-abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Studies in Gender and Sexuality, 5, 11–30. doi:10.1080/15240650509349238

16.

Gamson

W. A.

(1968). Power and discontent. Homewood, IL: Dorsey Press.

17.

Getz

Kirkley

E. A.

(2003). Queering the ethical school: A model for sexual orientation education at a religiously-affiliated institution. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.

18.

Getz

Kirkley

E. A.

(2006). Shaking up the status quo: Challenging intolerance of the lesbian, gay and bisexual community at a private Roman Catholic university. College Student Journal, 40, 857.

19.

Glaser

B. G.

Strauss

A. L.

(1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter.

20.

Gray

M. M.

Cidade

M. A.

(2013). Catholicism on campus: Stability and change in Catholic student faith by college type. Journal of Catholic Education, 14, 212–237.

21.

Guba

E. G.

Lincoln

Y. S.

(2005). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences. In Denzin

N. K.

Lincoln

Y. S.

(Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 191–216). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

22.

Gutmann

(1987). Democratic education. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

23.

Hughes

B. E.

(2015). “Who am I to judge?” How a Jesuit university addresses LGBT issues on campus (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of California, Los Angeles, CA. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/69701030

24.

Hurtado

Alvarez

C. L.

Guillermo-Wann

Cuellar

Arellano

(2012). A model for diverse learning environments. In Smart

J. C.

Paulsen

M. B.

(Eds.), Higher education: Handbook of theory and research (Vol. 27, pp. 41–122). New York, NY: Springer.

25.

Jesuit Institute. (1993). Ignatian pedagogy: A practical approach. Retrieved from http://jesuitinstitute.org/Resources/Ignatian%20Pedagogy%20(JI%20Edition%202013).pdf

26.

Katzenstein

M. F.

(2010). Protest moves inside institutions. In Krook

M. L.

Childs

(Eds.), Women, gender, and politics: A reader (pp. 47–53). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

27.

Kezar

A. J.

(2012). Organizational change in a global, postmodern world. In Bastedo

M. N.

(Ed.), The organization of higher education: Managing colleges for a new era (Kindle ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

28.

Kezar

A. J.

Lester

(2011). Enhancing campus capacity for leadership: An examination of grassroots leaders in higher education. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

29.

Kirkley

E. A.

Getz

(2007). A model for sexual orientation education at a religiously affiliated institution. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Issues in Education, 4(3), 113–119. doi:10.1300/J367v04n03_07

30.

Lacey

L. J.

(1986). Gay Rights Coalition v. Georgetown University: Constitutional values on a collision course. Oregon Law Review, 64, 409–455.

31.

Love

P. G.

(1997). Contradiction and paradox: Attempting to change the culture of sexual orientation at a small Catholic college. Review of Higher Education, 20, 381–398.

32.

Love

P. G.

(1998). Cultural barriers facing lesbian, gay, and bisexual students at a Catholic college. Journal of Higher Education, 69, 298–323. doi:10.2307/2649190

33.

Maher

M. J.

(2003). Some background on addressing the topic of homosexuality in Catholic education. Catholic Education, 6, 498–515.

34.

Maher

M. J.

Sever

L. M.

Pichler

(2008). How Catholic college students think about homosexuality: The connection between authority and sexuality. Journal of Homosexuality, 55, 325–349. doi:10.1080/00918360802345065

35.

Marine

(2011). Stonewall’s legacy: Bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender students in higher education. ASHE Higher Education Report, 37(4), 1–145. doi:10.1002/aehe.3704

36.

Martin

(2018). Building a bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT community can enter into a relationship of respect, compassion, and sensitivity. New York, NY: HarperOne.

37.

McEntarfer

H. K.

(2011). “Not going away”: Approaches used by students, faculty, and staff members to create gay–straight alliances at three religiously affiliated universities. Journal of LGBT Youth, 8, 309–331. doi:10.1080/19361653.2011 .607623

38.

McKevitt

S. J. G.

(1991). Jesuit higher education in the United States. Mid-America: An Historical Review, 73, 209-226.

39.

Merriam

S. B.

(2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

40.

Meyerson

D. E.

(2008). Rocking the boat: How to effect change without making trouble. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.

41.

Miles

M. B.

Huberman

A. M.

Saldaña

(2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

42.

National Conference of Catholic Bishops. (1997). Always our children: A pastoral message to parents of homosexual children and suggestions for pastoral ministers. Washington, DC: U.S. Catholic Conference.

43.

Patton

M. Q.

(2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

44.

Perlis

S. M.

Shapiro

J. P.

(2001). Understanding interconnections between cultural differences: A social justice imperative for educational administrators. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the University Council for Educational Administration, Cincinnati, OH. Paper retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED467730files/1457/eric.ed.gov.html

45.

Pew Research Center. (2013). A survey of LGBT Americans: Attitudes, experiences and values in changing times. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2013/06/SDT_LGBT-Americans_06-2013.pdf

46.

Pope John Paul II. (1990). Ex Corde Ecclesiae: Apostolic constitution of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II on Catholic universities. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

47.

Rankin

S. R.

Weber

Blumenfeld

Frazer

(2010). 2010 state of higher education for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Charlotte, NC: Campus Pride.

48.

Renn

K. A.

(2010). LGBT and queer research in higher education: The state and status of the field. Educational Researcher, 39, 132-141. doi:10.3102/0013189X10362579

49.

Saldaña

(2013). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

50.

Schaller

Boyle

(2006). Student affairs professionals at Catholic colleges and universities: Honoring two philosophies. Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice, 10(2). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ce/vol10/iss2/4/

51.

Special reports: A history of secrecy, cover-ups in Boston Archdiocese. (2015, October 13). The Boston Globe. Retrieved from https://www3.bostonglobe.com/news/special-reports/2015/10/13/bcom-spotlight/H1GowF3c56Yq7n68ONhJcK/story.html?arc404=true

52.

Spencer

(2013, July 30). A rainbow over Catholic colleges: How Georgetown became a gay-friendly campus. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/education/edlife/how-georgetown-became-a-gay-friendly-campus.html

53.

Sumner

S. W.

Sgoutas-Emch

Nunn

Kirkley

(2017). Implementing innovative pedagogy and a Rainbow Curriculum to expand learning on diversity. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 12, 94–119.

54.

Synod of Bishops. (2015). The final report of the Synod of Bishops to the Holy Father, Pope Francis. Retrieved from Vatican City: http://www.vatican.va/

55.

Weick

K. E.

(1984). Small wins: Redefining the scale of social problems. American Psychologist, 39, 40–49. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.39.1.40

56.

Wolff

J. R.

Himes

H. L.

(2010). Purposeful exclusion of sexual minority youth in Christian higher education: The implications of discrimination. Christian Higher Education, 9, 439–460.

57.

Wolff

J. R.

Himes

H. L.

Soares

S. D.

Miller Kwon

(2016). Sexual minority students in non-affirming religious higher education: Mental health, outness, and identity. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 3, 201–212. doi:10.1037/sgd0000162

58.

Woodford

M. R.

Silverschanz

Swank

Scherrer

K. S.

Raiz

(2012). Predictors of heterosexual college students’ attitudes toward LGBT people. Journal of LGBT Youth, 9, 297–320. doi:10.1080/19361653.2012.716697

59.

Yin

R. K.

(2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

60.

Yoakam

(2006). Resources for gay and bisexual students in a Catholic college. Journal of Men’s Studies, 14, 311–321. doi:10.3149/jms.1403.311

61.

Yoshino

(2006). Covering: The hidden assault on our civil rights. New York, NY: Random House.