A set of findings and explanation of findings regarding the life, faith, health, outlook, and situation of students who identify as sexual minorities at Christian colleges.

The authors cite their own studies as well as other studies done in the field to assess the condition of sexual minorities on Christian college campuses. They define sexual minorities as those who self identify as LGBTQ or questioning. They interviewed a set of them twice over the period of a couple of years to assess any changes which may have taken place. The issues covered everything from how they had come to believe/accept their sexuality, how they came to identify the way they did sexually, why they came to a Christian college, their faith and its standing in light of their sexuality, how well or poorly they felt accepted, the resources available to them, their mental health, and how well they transitioned out of the Christian college environment into another college or into the workplace.

The results are not necessarily what one would expect. Many of the students maintained their faith and wished to find ways to honor their faith while living with their sexuality. Few students expected the schools to change or adapt their general stance toward sexual behaviors; they instead wished for greater resources to be able to work through issues relating to their sexuality and not be marginalized on account of them. Over time more and more are finding greater acceptance and awareness of the situation; overall it seems many Christian colleges are attempting to work with the times in terms of helping sexual minority students while upholding their standards regarding sexual behavior.

The framework of identity, disability, and vocation seems to have value. The work is dense with statistics, display of evidence, and sociological terminology, making it a bit more challenging to read, but beneficial inasmuch one can see the ground upon which the authors are making their conclusions and recommendations.

A worthwhile read to be able to learn more about how young people seek to be faithfully Christian while grappling with their sexuality.

This book is very specific in being presented as the results of a longitudinal study for those on Christian College Campuses. While it doesn’t promise to be anything else, it was not quite what I had hoped. I guess I expected a more broadly written book which might be useful for anyone who is in contact with LBG+ youth in a Christian context. While some of the comments and topics were of use, it is a very specialised research project for those on American Christian College Campuses.