Sacred Lives: A Study on the Spiritual Needs of LGBTQ+ Students and Possible Responses by Catholic High Schools

Abstract

In this project, I examined the spiritual care offerings available to LGBTQ+ students in Catholic high schools in the state of Washington and potential best practices. Through a convergent mixed methods approach to gathering information on spiritual care, both public and clandestine, I sourced several methods of inquiry to analyze data and make recommendations. Using a survey of all fifteen Category I and Category II Catholic high schools in Washington, I collected data from administrators, counselors, campus ministers, and diversity equity inclusion (DEI) directors about spiritual care efforts in catholic high schools. Concurrently, two listening sessions were held with six LGBTQ+ alumni about their personal spiritual journeys as students who attended a Catholic high school. With a liberative lens and as a practical theologian, I dialogue with Catholic social teaching, Catholic doctrine and social sciences, and other Christian theologians who speak to LGBTQ+ spiritual care experiences