Welcoming Church Spaces: Queer Inclusion in the Christian Church Building

The current social climate in the U.S. has caused tension between Christian and LGBTQ communities. Social politics and the fight for gay rights has exacerbated the apparent conflicts. LGBTQ Christians are challenged with creating LGBTQ-friendly spiritual space in search of religious and sexual identity integration. What conditions make a spiritual space feel welcoming for LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ identities? How can features of the church building be modified to include LGBTQ people? To address these questions, a literature survey was conducted in three parts in search of 1) welcoming design strategies; 2) precedents for diverse, queer space; and 3) design strategies used to create sacred space in the Christian church setting. In response to the findings of the literature survey, three Christian churches in Buffalo were selected to participate in an exploratory study. Focus groups consisting of LGBTQ Christians were used to assess the LGBTQ perspective on welcoming design strategies, as suggested by the literature. Responses from the focus group and survey were used to develop design strategies that may help to create an LGBTQ-welcoming Christian church environment