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Religion has a terrible track record when it comes to queer members and issues: condemnation, rejection and often, in the case of the Catholic church, exploitation and excommunication. While not all religions are anti-LGBT, most everyone I interviewed for Fruitbowl had negative experiences with their faith, especially in their coming of age years when we didn’t have the agency to decide for ourselves if religion was something we actually wanted to participate in. Instead, it was thrust upon us and, as a result, many queer people became disenfranchised and suspicious of faith based institutions and the many self-righteous followers who feel empowered to judge us.

Editor’s Note: not all the interviewees identify themselves for every anecdote that is shared in this episode, so here is a comprehensive list of all the featured interviewees along with some description of each of their sections:

Andre (S3E17) - “I can’t lie to God!”; Alan (S3E2) - Growing up in the Cult of Mormon. Gabe (S1E8) - Freezing time in church; Puddin (S4E9) - Gay is the ultimate sin; Josh (S3E1) - Machismo, Christianity and self-punishment; Nathan S. (S3E13) - Christianity in the Egyptian-American community in New Jersey; Ari (S4E3) - The perfect Christian family…not.; John C. (S4E17) - Hot for preacher; Puddin (S4E9) - A letter to myself & my Vaseline jar; Nathan S. (S3E13) - Self love and Mr. Smiley; Dave (S4E15) - Cruising after choir practice; Elliott (S3E11) - Falling in love at church; Alan (S3E2) - Mormon missionary and The Dragon; Puddin (S4E9) - The Campus Crusade Leader and his Accountability Partner; Alan (S3E2) - Breaking the BYU “Honor” code; Puddin (S4E9) - Exodus and the “ex-gay” community; Alan (S3E2) - Saved by my theater family; Puddin (S4E9) - Saved by Doubting David; John C. (S4E17) - Massaging the megachurch preacher; Puddin (S4E9) - Dad’s funeral; Jason (S1E1) - Overnight with the wrestler from church.

This episode was edited and hosted by Dave Quantic, Fruitbowl’s creator and producer. Ryan Weadon did the music editing and final mix. Thanks Ryan! 

Support independent queer media by donating to Fruitbowl and help us in our mission to record, archive and share personal stories about queer coming of age. Learn more at www.fruitbowlpodcast.com/donate. 

Promoting a podcast about queer sex is an uphill battle when it comes to social media. Tell your friends about Fruitbowl, rate us on your podcast platform or write a review on Apple Podcast. Every little bit helps. https://linktr.ee/fruitbowlpod. 

Fruitbowl’s fruit artwork for Season 5 was created by Nathan Richards.IG: @Paperwombat.