Famílias LGBTI+ e religião: entidades de direito e fé

Abstract

Nowadays, conservative sectors of Brazilian society, some religions, and even politicians are intensifying their claims that only one model of family is possible: the traditional family, considered as intrinsic. They deny the existence of families formed by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transvestite, transsexual, and intersex people - LGBTI+. Starting from this juncture, the object of the thesis is the relationship between religion and LGBTI+ families and it aims at understanding the issues surrounding this historically divergent context. These new family arrangements bring new elements to our society, such as new perspectives on religion, conjugalities, and parenting of LGBTI+ families. If, on the one hand, certain religious strategies reveal prejudices that issue from the historical and social construction of a family model, on the other hand, LGBTI + conjugalities continue challenging this model, showing that other views are possible. This clash is notable in the country's institutional spheres. In the Brazilian legislature, political and religious manifestations against the LGBTI+ families proliferate, therefore, unfavorable to the demands and needs of the LGBTI+ collective. However, this fact contradicts the judicial sphere, in which these families have guaranteed legal support, recognition, and rights, as well as heterosexual families. To support the research, central aspects about human sexuality and gender category are addressed and, then, the profiles of the research participants are presented, having as main focus the religious representation of LGBTI+ families, the religious experience of each individual, and the importance or not of belonging to a religion. To obtain these empirical data, the snowball tool was used, in which each person indicated other people of their friendship circle. The survey was conducted from September to November 2019, with 38 representatives of LGBTI+ families, mostly from the state of Goiás, but also some from the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Sergipe, Ceará, Mato Grosso, and the Federal District. Most of the declared religious expressions are Christian, but other expressions have also been mentioned. This field research revealed data that are strongly related to the theoretical references of the research and put into question the assumptions of traditional and conservative religions. Contrary to these assumptions, LGBTI+ families question the hegemonic and heterocentric mentalities and representations and, therefore, the status quo of the traditional concept of family, as much as the concept of parenting