Summarize the following: Although religion provides a sense of control, support, and belonging, it could affect mental health negatively when its doctrines are discordant with other aspects of identity (King, 2003; Pargament et al., 2000). The negative and homophobic messages conveyed by mainstream religions can result in decreased well-being and self-acceptance, depression, increased suicidality, and feelings of distress for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) individuals, especially for those who rely on their congregations for social support (Carpineto et al., 2008; Kashubeck-West et al., 2017). Considering its impact on mental health, it is important to explore the intersection of religious and sexual orientation/gender identities of LGBTs. However, most of the previous studies focused on LGBTs who live in predominantly Christian or Jewish communities or countries. There are relatively few studies investigating LGBTs in Muslim communities (Shah, 2016; Siraj, 2012; Wieringa, 2015). Also, no known study investigated the relationship between individuals’ LGBT identity and their Islamic beliefs, in addition to their religion-based interactions with other Muslims and LGBTs. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to understand the relationship between religious identities and sexual orientation or gender identities among Turkish LGBTs and their related coping strategies as well as to understand the nature of their religion-related interactions with other Muslims and non-religious LGBTs.

The prevailing Islamic perspective regarding homosexuality is mainly based on the verse regarding the People of Lut in the Quran, ‘You lust after men rather than women. You are an excessive people’ (Quran 7: 81, Clear Quran edition). Although there are few Islamic scholars who believe that the sinful act among the people in Lot Tribe was the same-sex sexual assault and rape rather than homosexuality, the majority of Muslims believe that same-sex sexual activities are sinful and such desires should be resisted and fought with prayers, giving to charity, and seeking refuge in Allah (Zulkffli & Rashid, 2016).

Most Islamic scholars and Muslims agree that homosexual behaviours should be considered as haram or impure and should not be allowed (Boelstroff, 2005; Hooghe et al., 2010). Muslim communities tend to welcome LGBTs only with the intention to heal them (Wilcox, 2002). Consequently, many religious LGBTs cannot claim or maintain their identity within the religious communities and live their religious identity in full (Yip, 2007). As a result, Islam’s intolerance towards homosexuality renders Muslim LGBTs invisible in religious societies (Siraj, 2012). Furthermore, many people hold the assumptions that LGBTs are faithless or that all religious people are heterosexual (Sumerau & Cragun, 2015), which results in a constant struggle for religious LGBTs to create a space for themselves within social and religious systems that do not even recognise their presence (Wolkomir, 2006). Additionally, religious LGBTs encounter a double stigma, because not only are they rejected by religious congregations, but they are also excluded by other LGBTs for being openly religious (O’Brien, 2004). The reason behind this exclusion is that some LGBT individuals consider religion as the most heterosexist social institution and claim that religious LGBTs suffer from ‘false consciousness’ and accuse them of ‘sleeping with the enemy’ (Yip, 2008, p. 9)