Nashville-based pastor Kent Christmas is at it again. We recently reported on how the preacher (sporting some nice rainbow shirt buttons) warned a large audience in Washington DC of how the “demonic spirit” of homosexuality was taking over Christian children and was coming after “our seed”.
Related: Pastor rages that half his flock have a gay “son, daughter, niece, nephew, brother or sister”
This week, he was preaching about the high suicide rate amongst LGBTQ people.
Displaying the warped logic so common amongst right-wing evangelists, Christmas had his own theory on why rates of suicide are higher among gay people.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Right-wing pastor (and Dan Flashes aficionado) Kent Christmas says that “suicide amongst the homosexuality community” is prevalent “because of the guilt”: “They know that it’s not right, but they are bound and they hate doing it.” pic.twitter.com/SjiVXxce4Z
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) September 30, 2021
“Can I tell you how my heart goes out to the homosexual community because there are so many of them… suicide amongst the homosexual community is one of the highest rates of suicide … in part, it is because of the guilt: They know that it’s not right, but they are bound and they hate doing it.”
Although it’s easy to laugh at extremist religious folk, Kent Christmas (who along with his wife, Candy Christmas founded the Regeneration Nashville church in Nashville, TN), is right about one thing: Suicide rates among LGBTQ people are considerably higher than their straight counterparts.
A 2016 study found that 17% of gay and bisexual people had attempted suicide at some point in their life, compared to 2.4% of the general US population. LGBTQ youth were three times more likely than non-LGBQ youth to contemplate suicide.
However, most researchers in the field say the high rates of depression among gay people are directly linked due to the discrimination they face.
The risk of suicide is even higher in those who have faced rejection in their life because of their sexuality, or who have subjected themselves to any form of so-called “conversion therapy”, an ineffective and dangerous practice often advocated by evangelicals like Christmas.
Related: Priest busted stealing from collection plate to buy drugs for gay sex parties
Christmas’s latest thoughts on the topic of homosexuality were picked up by Right Wing Watch.
On social media, many were quick to ridicule his latest sermon.
Exactly, no way it’s because of things like getting disowned and kicked out of your house when you’re 18 and have nothing. That couldn’t possibly be the reason.
— A.$.A.P General Strikey (@lyleleander) September 30, 2021
Well if you didn’t make them feel shitty enough they might not feel that way.
— 🦊 Auro D. Hikoshi 🦊 (@CooroSnowFox) September 30, 2021
What’s “not right”, sir, is that shirt…. is that glitter? pic.twitter.com/p3Z6k0qCa6
— The Idea Guy™️ (@sjtheethird) September 30, 2021
Am I the only one whose gaydar is going haywire with this dude?
— Dave (@DaveStrong11) September 30, 2021
The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255.
Mister P
The guilt comes from idiots like this guy who cite a fictional and immoral book that says LGBT+ people are wrong.
johncp56
Yes! and have maga $$$ tax free cults shameless hate made up
Man About Town
Was his wife named after the song from “Best Little Whorehouse in Texas”?
jcool
or maybe the song was named after her
My2CentsWorth
“They know that it’s not right, but they are bound and they hate doing it.”
Why would anyone who believes that they are prisoners to [whatever] would go after them the way that the extreme Christians do?
johncp56
Tax the power out of their asses
ZzBomb
If this guys is so against gays why does he look like he’s about to hit a circuit party in palm springs?
I wager a full weeks salary this man has grindr on his phone.
Chrisk
First off that shirt is just wrong and your last name is Christmas? You can see the past life of hard living if you know what I mean in that face. Lol
Gee I wonder why some gay people are depressed. Could it be because of the discrimination that you actively promote? Luckily I’m a rational and logical thinking person so I’m not influenced by your loony tunes grifting ass. Other then amusement.
johncp56
Yes!! and tax their nasty lying asses
Donston
You really don’t even want to validate his nonsense by responding to it. But of course, queers aren’t attempting suicide out of guilt. The suicide attempts are mostly instigated by family and sociological phobias, resentments and ostracizing, and that includes religious persecution. Also, some folks can’t deal with all their dimensions, mental health issues and past traumas. It’s almost never about “guilt”.
However, I really wanted to comment because I’m tired of same-sex connection being reduced to sexuality. Being into your sex isn’t merely about sex. This is part of how they push their anti-gay agenda, by making everything about sex and attractions and not acknowledging folks preferring same-sex attention, affection, comfort, emotional attachment, time and relationship investment, love, commitment. They feel that if they make it all just about sex then it’ll be looked at as tawdry and basic and frivolous. So, we have to make sure that we don’t just reduce it to sex when talking about gayness/queerness.
Tombear
How can these Evangelical preachers ACT like they are all experts on homosexuality when they don’t know any out homosexuals?
Mack
Oh they know them, they keep them hidden so the wife doesn’t know.
Hank31
The claim above that LGBs have an attempted suicide rate of 17% compared to 2.4% of heteros — or a 7X greater risk — seemed off to me. Most studies show that LGBs have a 2X to 4X greater risk, with bisexuals having the higher ratio and gay men the lowest. The gap generally is shrinking, albeit very slowly, and some studies have shown that gay men are now below 2X.
So 7X seemed too high. And sure enough, when you click through to the actual 2016 meta-study, it shows 4% for heteros and 11% for LGBs in response to population surveys. There is a much higher LGB figure for “community surveys” but since the goal is to compare apples to apples, we would want to use the population survey figures for both LGBs and heteros. 11% compared to 4% yields an 2.75X increased risk, not 7X.
Donston
Those types of studies and percentages are generally deeply flawed and shift drastically depending on who’s conducting the studies. They depend on a small sample size. They also depend on presented identities or presented behaviors. Who’s to say that some people perceived as “straight” who committed or attempted suicide weren’t in the the queer spectrum? Who’s to say some of those “gay presenting” dudes weren’t inherently bisexual/pan-sexual or had some fluidity? Who’s to say some of those guys who presented themselves as bi/pan weren’t homosexual or hetero? Queer studies and stats are always gonna be all over the place because sexuality, gender, the motivations behind identities, presented behaviors, mental health, where folks are in the gender, sexual, affection, comfort, romantic, emotion, commitment spectrum is so all over the place and individual.
What is evident is that “queers” are more likely to have persistent mental health strife. That is often due to feeling ostracized or like outcasts. Sometimes due to prejudice, sociological pressures, damaged egos, family abandonment, religious persecution. Sometimes due to mental health disorders, not being able to handle your dimensions, not dealing well with past traumas. It almost never is about “guilt”. And when it is about guilt, some of those other things tend to be at play as well.
Hank31
90% of your comment is know-nothing rubbish. And stop calling gay people queer.
Donston
Lordy. I gave a respectful, nuanced response, and all you have is a bitchy retort. I know this comment section is toxic as well, just as the site. But it’s really disappointing how embittered, threatened and easily triggered so many of y’all are.
And yes, there are many gay/bi/whatever presenting males who fully embrace being seen as “queer”. If you don’t want to be referred to as such then just say so. Trying to get folks to stop using the word “queer” in general just makes you come off like an bitter old queen at this point. You’re on a site called “Queerty”. If you’re that pissy and sensitive about “queer” why post here? Stop being shitty, bitter representation and have a good day.
Fname Optional Lname
There is nothing wrong with people who prefer to identify as “queer”.
petej
is that true of veterans suffering from ptsd (i.e., they knew serving their country was wrong) too? thank you for your insight.
gaym50ish
People over 65 are 54 times more likely to commit suicide than those from ages 25 to 34. Does that make it wrong to be a senior citizen?
WSnyder
Like Fred Phelps [WBC], people like this only help the LGBTQ+ Community because they put a real face on the the ugliness of Homophobia. Their words, meant to hurt, only prove their hate and the fact that they couldn’t be further from kindness and true religious [even Christian] values.
FridM
Someone should kill him….because I know that it’s the right thing to do!!!
blackhook
Yet another strange closeted evangelical right-wing freak …who is so enamored of ‘The Gays’ that he can’t stop fantasizing about them. Counting down the seconds — tick tock, tick tock… till his young male ‘assistant’ tells all…
Jim
Hate is hate is hate. May some day this man learn the love of the Nazarene
wikidBSTN
Not as wrong as wearing that ugly shirt in public.
Fname Optional Lname
If I saw that shirt on a man in public I would know he was either a friend of Dorothy or legally blind. You know when he wears that shirt out in public he constantly hears men screaming “Yaaaaaaaasssss!!!”