Document Detail


On the varying meaning of "open and affirming".
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  21058144     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Some religious denominations offer programs where member congregations can signal their acceptance of all gender identities and sexual orientations. The United Church of Christ (UCC) created one of the earliest of such programs in the mid-1980s by which congregations can adopt an "Open and Affirming" identity. However, there has been little research examining this program and how it has evolved over time. Research suggests that organizational innovations like the Open and Affirming program often become institutionalized over time, leading to changes in how the program is expressed or conducted. We examine Open and Affirming (ONA) congregations in the UCC to see if the manner in which they express their ONA identity depends on when they adopted the identity. We find that early adopters of such programs are more likely than later adopters to focus on sexual orientation. While this could be seen as a troubling pattern, we argue that it could represent greater awareness of the Open and Affirming program's meaning, which has allowed for greater flexibility in its expression.
Authors:
Christopher P Scheitle; Stephen M Merino; Andrew Moore
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of homosexuality     Volume:  57     ISSN:  1540-3602     ISO Abbreviation:  J Homosex     Publication Date:  2010  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-11-08     Completed Date:  2011-07-27     Revised Date:  2011-08-19    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7502386     Medline TA:  J Homosex     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1223-36     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA. cps153@psu.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Female
Homosexuality*
Humans
Male
Protestantism*
Social Environment

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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