Study: Gay Christians, Muslims most likely to be troubled

Research by a British dating agency says practising Christians and Muslims who are gay are the most likely to struggle with their sexuality.

Coming out is still one of the biggest hurdles, in spite of growing acceptance of gay people, says Gay UK News. The research was carried out by the free gay dating website ManCentral.com, which questioned 5,000 of its users. They were asked what was most problematic for them. “Of all the religious denominations, Islam and Christianity were found to be the most troublesome for gay and bisexual men,” says Gay UK News. Thirty-nine percent of gay Muslim men said their religion was their biggest worry, according to the report, and 22 percent of gay Catholics agreed. “Intriguingly, 75 percent of gay Hindus feared their family rather than their religion[;] however, this may be a result of the importance of family within Hinduism.” Four percent of atheist members, and 9 percent of agnostics claimed that religion had been problematic when they were coming to terms with their sexuality. “Sadly,” says the story, “it would seem that, for a portion of the gay and bisexual community, the only resolution to their turmoil is to abandon religion altogether.”