A Theory of Sexual-Spiritual Development: A Qualitative Study

In recent years, increased public and scholarly attention has been paid to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as LDS or Mormon) who engage in mixed orientation marriages in which a homosexual individual pursues a marriage with a member of the opposite sex. Previous research indicates that integrating sexual identity development, spirituality, and religiosity can be difficult for LGBT individuals who have been marginalized by some religions -this marginalization can cause tension with their spirituality and homosexuality (Sheridan, 2011). Using a modified grounded theory, this exploratory qualitative research examines the developmental process of integrating one\u27s homosexual identity with one\u27s religiousness or spirituality. Emerging from the data were six sexual-spiritual developmental stages. Additionally, I explore common coping strategies associated with this difficult process of sexual-spiritual development. Implications for this theory are discussed in terms of social work practice and the person-in-environment perspective