Influence of the Orthodox Church on Homosexuality in Serbia

Sunday, 26 October 2003 01:00

Article Index
Influence of the Orthodox Church on Homosexuality in Serbia
Page 2
Page 3
All Pages

:Research:

My primary focus of this research is determining the extent of the influence of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the lives of lesbian women.  More specifically, how the Church’s ideologies are disseminated, received, and realized by lesbians.  The Orthodox Church has played and continues to play the role of moral authority in Serbia, impacting the social and political life of both believers and non-believers.  I first of all looked into the Church’s stance on homosexuality.  Then, I looked at how this stance is circulated in society and how it is received dealt with by lesbians. While the Church maintains an official position on homosexuality, it is interesting to see how this is transmitted to society at large and taken in by lesbians in particular.

I was inspired to research this topic because my personal association to organized religion has raised many questions and caused contention for me.   I sought to understand how religion plays out in people’s lives as it has played an important part in my life. I find it particularly important to research how lesbians are influenced by the Orthodox Church because their voices and experiences are generally not heard.  It is important for me, as a lesbian, to hear these experiences and learn from them. It is also important to inquire, take account, and write about how lesbians see, feel, and cope with socialization influenced by Orthodoxy.

Hopefully this research and documentation will be a resource for other lesbians in Serbia, with which to compare and contrast experiences.  It may also serve as a starting point to looking at the Orthodox Church and homosexuality from the lesbian point of view. I hope that my interviews with women for this research created an opportunity for them to share their stories, self-analyze, and define their goals for the future.

 

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework that structures this research is a combination of feminist theory and Hungarian queer theory.   “The ethical obligation of scholars who operate according to feminist or other emancipatory principles may extend to including interviewees as research collaborators, even to according interviewees input into the interpretation of their stories” (Blee and Taylor 113).  After writing the paper I shared it with some of the women I worked with to get their input. I also included my translator’s critique of my methodology.

Hungarian queer theory examines the social perception of homosexuality, identification, stereotyping, and prejudice.  “In a broad sense, homosexual politics can be defined as a symbolic space to challenge definitions, descriptions, discourses and categories which are structuring social space in ways disadvantageous to homosexuals” (Takacs 230).  Hopefully this paper will be a space to challenge definitions and discourses surrounding homosexuality and the ideologies of the Church. 

 

Literature Review

          There have been a few articles on the topic of homosexuality and the Serbian Orthodox Church,  such as an article “Seks i Crkva” (Sex and the Church) published in the magazine Status. There has also been a short study done on the Orthodox Church and homosexuality for a Women’s Studies paper.

 

Methodology

          I have chosen to study the influence of the Orthodox Church on society through the lens of the lesbian experience.  I located participants for this research through Labris, a lesbian rights organization, in Belgrade, Serbia. The social identities of my research participants are lesbian women involved in gay and lesbian activism, both leaders and participants in the movement, or connected to the group Labris in some way.  Participants are either directly involved in Labris or somehow affiliated through friends, etc.  It was easier to find women willing to talk with me about their experiences through such an organization.  In a closed and homophobic environment, finding lesbians to interview would be virtually impossible except through connection to a lesbian organization. This, however, gave me a sample of women who were “out” (at least to others in Labris) and excluded those who choose not to identify with a lesbian organization. 

          I chose semi-structured interviewing as my main method of research.    Semi-structured interviewing is particularly useful for gay and lesbian issues in Serbia as the society (in general) does not tolerate homosexuality.  Traditional methods of gathering research would not be effective because it is not safe to be “out” and discuss homosexuality.  This method enabled me to explore issues for which it is difficult to gather data,  such as ideologies of the Orthodox Church, etc.  In-depth interviewing let me assess the complex ways in which ideas are interpreted both cognitively and emotionally and considers the woman, not existing theory, as the expert on her own psychological experience (Anderson and Jack 164).

Also, there is a lack of formal information about this topic. Interviews more holistically represent the interviewee, whereas other methods of research can disproportionately represent who is heard .  Information gathered from interviews help to counteract the lack of availability of documentary material regarding lesbians and the Orthodox Church in Serbia.  Women often internalize categories with which to interpret their experience and activities; what is missing then is the woman’s own interpretation of her experience (Anderson and Jack 164). Qualitative interviews allowed me to explore participants’ views of reality and understand the relationship between private and public histories, experiences, and narratives.  Although I focused on interviews and conversations as a way of gathering information, I conducted other research in the Women’s Studies Center library and the Belgrade Media library.  I also had an advisor to see me through to the completion of the project.

          I am an outsider in relation to my participants in terms of being a foreigner to this region and not knowing participants before the research.  However, I would like to say that during my time in Belgrade I have worked on reducing my ‘outsider’ position. I developed relationships with my participants outside of ‘the interview’ and got to know people in a sense that gave me a more holistic perspective on their lives.  This facilitated better access to participants and information, while building trusting relationships with participants and key informants.  At the outset of the interviews I explained the purposes of the interview, and the rights of the interviewee.

          My position in relation to my research participants will always be that of an outsider to some degree, however.  My social identity as a Westerner came into play during my research with regards to the types of questions I asked (Thus, giving me different answers). For instance, in the beginning I asked women if they were “out” to their family and/or friends before I was told that “You don’t ask that question in Serbia.”  Soon enough I learned how to develop my inquiries to fit the existing social situation. Initial interviews and analyses provoked changes in the types of questions I asked also.  I began incorporating questions that elicited responses as to how Church ideology was being transmitted to society and my respondents. This change occurred as I developed my research focus better (which was also influenced by the information I gained from interviews).The Western lens no doubt affected the analysis and interpretation of my research, but because all research is subjective to some point, this could not be avoided. Therefore, I try to let each interview speak for itself and each woman’s story stand for what it is.

My social identity as a lesbian with some experience with the gay and lesbian community in the United States also affected my research.  It gave me more opportunity for informative interviews with other lesbians and facilitated closer relationships with participants as I was able to identify with the women on similar issues.  I gave each participant the opportunity to ask questions of me before and after each interview. Interviewees tended to ask what my sexual orientation was and whether or not I was religious. This seemed natural, considering the topic of my research. The fact that I was working with Labris was a big indicator that I was at least open and thus influenced my interviews in the sense that most women were very open to answering my questions.  Interviewees’ names are changed in the paper to protect their privacy.  I originally told participants this at the end of the interview, and this may have negatively affected the amount or depth of information discussed during the interview.

< Prev