ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the relationship between bisexual religiosity and health to understand how psychological, social and religious factors interact to shape wellness. Our analysis draws on a sample of 405 bisexuals in Ontario, Canada, collected between 21 December 2011 and 27 November 2012. We examine the association of anxiety, depression and social support in relation to the religion or faith group in which participants were raised, their current religion or faith group, and their perception of the attitudes towards LGBTQ people held by those religious traditions. Contrary to expectations, our analysis found no statistically significant relation between scores on measures of depression, anxiety, or social support, and factors related to religion: how LGBTQ-friendly participants rated their religion of upbringing; how LGBTQ-friendly participants rated their current faith; and how religious participants considered themselves to be in childhood and in the present. Religiosity was not a risk or a protective factor for bisexuals in our sample and it did not impact on the relationship between bisexual identity and mental health. These findings may be due to increasing secularity. Our negative findings (no relationship between religion and measures of wellbeing) pose analytical challenges for future studies examining the relationship between sexual identity, religion and wellness.
