Faith and queerness aren't mutually exclusive, and Beloved Arise is reframing that outdated spiritual narrative. Despite popular belief, a significant percentage of the queer community has strong faith, but they often face significant hurdles finding inclusive spaces to practice their religion.
While this has been an ongoing struggle throughout history, Beloved Arise is the first national organization that empowers queer youth of faith by providing a space for young members of the LGBTQ+ community. Through storytelling, mentorship, and spiritual affirmation, Beloved Arise helps queer youth reclaim their right to love who they love and practice their religion without judgment.
One Identity Doesn't Cancel Out the Other
It's not always easy growing up queer in faith-based communities. Stigmas against the LGBTQ+ community can be severe, particularly in these spaces. Naturally, that rhetoric and feeling of "otherness" can sometimes be isolating and even scary. As a result, many young people feel pressured to distance themselves from practicing their faith or push down their identity to conform. No one should be forced to choose between their religion and being who they are. Beloved Arise offers queer youth a path to honor both parts of themselves.
The organization helps ambassadors work through persisting shame and exclusion to bring in a new generation of queer believers who find joy and a sense of belonging and purpose in their intersectional journey. It's not just about survival, but self-discovery rooted in queerness and faith.
Every Young Person Has a Story to Tell
Beloved Arise hosts an annual Queer Youth of Faith National Essay Contest, providing the opportunity to write pieces on topics like unconditional love. Not only is the project a self-reflective experience, but it's a chance for participants to connect with other young people just like them and realize they're not alone.
Being young and LGBTQ+ in a faith-based community can feel stifling and lonely. However, finding like-minded people can be an incredibly healing experience. By publicly sharing their story, often for the first time, Beloved Arise essayists can use their words to claim a space in their spiritual community that's both empowering and cathartic. Many impactful essays find their way onto individual ambassador profiles, where spiritual language like "beloved," "worthy," and "called" helps writers discover themselves and their relationship with the divine.
Becoming Leaders in the Community
For too long, young queer members of the faith-based community had no one to look up to or turn to who would understand their experience. Beloved Arise is turning its mission into a sustainable movement by shaping young participants into leaders. These young people aren't just voices; they're mentors, event hosts, and even peer supporters. These leaders helm discussions, organize projects, and build out a network of belonging.
The influence of Beloved Arise and its members isn't just relegated to the digital world. Ambassadors are branching out to local spaces by providing this support in places like schools and churches, giving like-minded individuals a tangible community to lean on.
Between inclusive Bible studies and campus ministries that reject exclusionary practices, Beloved Arise ambassadors are changing the narrative for future generations by challenging the long-held stigmas that have historically marginalized the queer community in faith spaces.
Embracing a Spiritual Family
Beloved Arise is more than a useful organization; it helps members find their spiritual family. Whether it's digital meetups, retreats, or storytelling circles, ambassadors create bonds with other members through mutual affirmation. These safe spaces nurture queer youth rather than being conditional or punishing, a vibe the community knows all too well.
The program isn't just beneficial for community members, however. Ambassadors often find the tools to renew family relationships and deepen spiritual clarity. Without the pressure to hide themselves to be accepted, nurturing self-acceptance helps ambassadors embrace love, light, and faith in all areas of their lives.
Building a Better, More Inclusive Future
Ultimately, Beloved Arise is shifting the problematic notion that queerness and faith are incompatible. The organization's network of queer youth are carving a path in faith spaces where their identity isn't just tolerated, but celebrated.
It's no secret that queer youth face significantly higher rates of mental health struggles, which often goes hand in hand with religion-based rejection from a young person's family or community. The number of unhoused queer youth is also an epidemic. It's about time young members of the LGBTQ+ community have somewhere to turn to that offers hope, healing, and a path toward spiritual inclusivity.
