Research
Scroll to learn about how religion/ spirituality impacts mental health
Pre - Departure Critique
The country of India holds a world of culture different from the United States. Different foods, different religions, different music, different languages, etc. With this substantially different environment, I am excited to receive the different perspectives of those in India. I am specifically interested in researching how queer women's religious/spiritual beliefs affect their mental health and desire to live life. Of course, not every queer woman in India will identify with the same sexuality and religious identity. Some will be Buddhist lesbians, while others may be Hindu bisexuals. Amongst these multifaceted women, I would like to learn about the way their identities impact their self esteem and life satisfaction.
In general, it can be difficult to even get to a place in life where one feels secure in their identity, much less coming to terms with so many different intersections. There is already a bit of coverage on this topic in the United States. According to Huffman & Warlick, bisexual participants and highly religious and spiritual participants claimed to feel more negatively about their identity as lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals, along with women and participants who negatively view their sexual identity reported lower self-esteem. Some Orthodox Christians believe that homosexuality is comparable to committing murder; that at the end of the day, they are all sins (Iulian, 2016) resulting in some LGBT+ women leaving behind their religious identity entirely from being continuously asked to leave the church due to their sexuality not being acceptable in the eyes of God which was heartbreaking for those who found solace in their church community (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14427591.2014.953670?casa_token=-dUmn2bJCiQAAAAA%3AcTJ2Yn2xnB57RyR8twmgT7P_CjVC6RouO5YfBz9PMn3UFpIG456KkO2iGr2RT65kFGBE2FzSoHdhN_k).
While it is much more common for LGBT+ Americans to have religious trauma when it comes to being religious and queer, some people do not let certain negative experiences waver their faith, such as black, lesbian woman Willow (file:///Users/stephromero/Downloads/s12119-018-9504-8.pdf
) who proudly describes herself as a Christian woman. Other queer Christian women would happily agree with Willow who were raised Christian and showered with learnings of open-mindedness, the importance of giving back to the community, as well as the importance of family, rather than discrimination and hate (https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2016-22461-001.pdf?auth_token=57a56ce3ad6f26db846b8290833dcb7c6c698018). For some, they face harsh experiences with certain religions but then positive ones with others, such as Yolanda who found a safety net for her sexuality in Wicca (file:///Users/stephromero/Downloads/s12119-018-9504-8.pdf
). Other women in the LGBT+ community relate to Yolanda’s journey in search for the Divine through their own individual relationship with it. They have even said that their belief in an accepting and loving higher power has blessed them with a source of peace and support (https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2016-22461-001.pdf?auth_token=57a56ce3ad6f26db846b8290833dcb7c6c698018). These folks believe that their relationship with their Creator has provided them with more love and acceptance of themselves, a deeper meaning and purpose in life, more empathy, openness, and compassionate action towards others, an enhanced amount of positive relationships including with romantic partners, a stronger sense of community, aided them in coming out, as well as coping with prejudices.
Although the livelihood of religious/ spiritual queer women in the United States isn’t the most luxurious, I would assume that the results will be even worse in India, especially considering that people are not as liberated in India. Additionally, religion plays an even larger factor in the lives of individuals in India with almost 80% of Indians being Hindu (https://www.census2011.co.in/religion.php#:~:text=Hindu%20Population%20in%20India&text=In%20India%2C%20out%20of%20total,121%20crores%2079.8%25%20are%20Hindus), compared to 64% of Americans being Christian (https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/09/13/modeling-the-future-of-religion-in-america/). These differences have also caused some concern in my research. In general, women are not regarded fairly in comparison to men, especially queer folk. I'm also concerned about triggering anyone during the interview process, as well as potentially outting anyone while conducting this research. I’m concerned for the safety of queer women in general and am concerned to learn what they may have gone through.
I would specifically like to learn whether queer people are comfortably out in india, the gay population in india, whether gay women are more targeted than gay men, how many people have a monolithic religious belief, believe in christianity, are not out or suppress themselves because of their culture and religion, if they feel safe to be out. I would like to interview queer women and maybe go to a queer site if there is one. As a Catholic, queer woman, I'm intrigued to learn about other queer women's relationships with the Divine. I personally have had a positive experience but that's also with consideration that I had the opportunity to explore religion in my own way and not with it being shoved down my throat.
Works Cited
file:///Users/stephromero/Downloads/s12119-018-9504-8.pdf
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2022/09/13/modeling-the-future-of-religion-in-america/
Field Experience Critique
Never in my life would I have thought that I would be able to say that I saw one of the seven wonders of the world. Back in Miami at my parent’s house, I always dreamed about seeing the world. I slowly began traveling across the US but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that I would be traveling to India. A country filled with loads of history and culture; a place where cows are more respected than women, where one cannot even see the clouds from the amount of pollution, where the food is hotter than the weather. While spending time in Mysore, the yoga capital of the world, I considered where else I should explore. That’s when the realization dawned on me. How can I be in India and not see one of the seven wonders? And so I packed my bags and headed to Agra.
I know that the Taj Mahal is considered one of the wonders of the world for a reason but nothing could have prepared me for the intricacies and beauty that is the Taj Mahal.
The Taj Mahal was built by one of the Mughal kings in honor of his wife who passed away while delivering their 14th child. He knelt beside her on her deathbed, devastated, and promised her that he would build her heaven and never remarry. Although he broke his promise and remarried his late wife’s sister seven days later, he did keep one of them and built the physical version of heaven. He had it made completely in white marble to replicate heaven's gates. Each piece of it was carved by hand and created with real crystals with the help of over 20,000 workers. For instance, any green that can be found was made from malachite, any blue was lapis lazuli. A fascinating detail about the Taj Mahal is that the entire place is completely symmetrical, down to the addition of the second Mosque. Because of the king’s religious obligation to Islam, he incorporated a mosque facing the East which is in the direction of Mecca but to balance this out, he added a whole other Mosque in front of it, facing the west. Additionally, according to scripture, there are 16 gardens in paradise and so the king had 16 gardens created. Eight on one side and eight on the other. Because of the king’s goal to make the Taj Mahal entirely symmetrical, he actually wanted to build a second Taj Mahal in black to balance out the white but unfortunately died before he had the chance. The only thing that was not symmetrical in all of the square feet was the king’s tomb. Of course, considering that the Taj Mahal itself was created for his wife, her tomb lies right at the center of the entire perimeter. In total, the Taj Mahal took 22 years to make. The king specifically chose Agra to have the Taj Mahal be built because it was the capital of India at the time. He also purposely reserved the plot of land to have the gorgeous view of the lake. When in the sun, one can see the temple glimmering.
To maintain the pristineness that is the Taj Mahal, one must take off their shoes.
Needless to say, I was astounded by the Taj Mahal. However, I couldn't help but feel anger at the king for breaking his promise to his wife. The entitlement that men have is ridiculous to me. I recognize how it can be healthy for one to move on once their partner passes away, but what frustrates me is that he promised her he would never remarry. It makes me wonder why he would even promise that in the first place. I believe that he created the Taj Mahal to help relieve his guilty conscience and prove the love he had for his wife. It might as well have been for nothing though because his true self was revealed once he married his wife’s own sister.
Personal Communication Critique
As human beings, we all have thoughts and feelings. We all feel happiness when our long awaited meal is placed in front of us. In the same way we feel happiness, we also feel sadness when a loved one passes away or shock if it occurred suddenly. These feelings will inevitably stir up thoughts in one's brain such as “How could this have happened?” or even, “It should’ve been me instead.” And yet, despite all of us having hearts and brains in common, openly discussing what takes place in each of these organs continues to be a foreign concept across the globe, especially in countries that lack awareness for mental health in general such as India.
In India, a country where access to basic physical health care can be difficult to come across, mental health is rarely even regarded. And honestly, when one is actively struggling to put food on the table, it can be understood why one’s feelings and thoughts can take the back burner. But that doesn’t mean it should be neglected entirely, especially when it comes to minorities, such as women.
The women of India face constant discrimination in comparison to men. Women are culturally expected to cover up entirely and if they don’t, the men lust after them with India having one of the highest rates of rape in the world (). They are also expected to take care of all of the household chores. In society they are not viewed as equally as a man and will undergo situations where their presence is not even acknowledged. Needless to say, women are not even remotely close to being met with the respect that they deserve. Naturally, this reality would take a toll on anyone.
PHRII counselor, Ambika, can confirm this exhaustion.
According to Ambika, being a woman in Indian society has had a negative effect on her mental health. She is prone to emotional outbursts due to her lack of being acknowledged as a human being. However, her likelihood of getting emotional is dependent on the situation. Apparently, Ambika is less prone to anger when the situation involves people she is not as close to. But when it comes to people she is close to, she is more likely to become emotional.