Beyond survival: transform religious trauma into personal growth

Purpose The purpose of the study is to break new ground by using positive autoethnography (PosAE) to investigate the impact of religious trauma on gender/sexual minority identity. This study’s unique approach is to interpret its findings using a post-traumatic growth framework that delves into the multifaceted dimensions of personal growth and evolution following a traumatic event or series of events. Design/methodology/approach Analyst triangulation using the PosAE framework to study the first author’s experiential narrative of personal growth and evolution following clashes between religious and sexual identities, representing a complex identity threat that is common to many sexual/gender minority persons of faith-based communities. Findings The analysis of post-traumatic growth in negotiating a gay identity within a religious context reveals a complex integration process. This process is not a simple linear progression from trauma to healing, but rather a nuanced journey where different aspects of experience interact over time to inform and reshape each other. Trauma is not eradicated, but rather incorporated into a more complex, meaningful and authentic larger narrative of transformation. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study, which apply a post-traumatic growth-informed PosAE journalling approach, have the potential to serve as an effective intervention for recovery from the specific nature of religious trauma and its impact on sexual/gender minority identity. These findings can be meaningfully integrated with existing theoretical frameworks, such as minority stress and identity transition models, to enrich and enhance the recovery process. Originality/value This study pioneers the use of PosAE to explore religious trauma among gender and sexual minorities, offering a novel integration of personal narrative with the post-traumatic growth framework. By shifting the lens from pathology to growth, it challenges dominant deficit-based models and highlights the transformative potential of trauma integration. The work advances both methodological innovation and theoretical understanding, providing new pathways for identity reconciliation and psychosocial recovery among faith-based sexual/gender minority and individuals.