A model of identity enactment among religious queer youth

According to identity theory, people tend to act consistently with their identities, although this depends on an identity’s importance (centrality) and relationships supporting that identity (commitment). Research and theorizing typically have focused on the development of singular identities; however, among queer-identifying youth who are also religious, their religious and queer identities might be conflicting yet important identities to navigate and reconcile. To address this gap, we propose a model using identity theory to explain how religious queer youth navigate which identity to behaviorally enact. We propose that commitment to religious and queer identities predict their relative positions in the identity salience hierarchy (likelihood of enacting an identity), and that identity centrality and stigma moderate these associations. Identity salience then predicts which identity would be enacted. Practitioners working with religious queer youth should examine the importance of each identity, relationships supporting or discouraging each identity, and internalized and external stigma, to understand identity-relevant behaviors among this population.