Forgiveness and religious coping in mixed-orientation couples: A longitudinal study

There is an estimated one to two million individuals in the United States who have been or are in a mixed-orientation marriage -- a marriage in which one spouse is heterosexually-orientated and the other experiences same-sex attraction. The current study expands and contributes to the research on mixed-orientation couples (MOC) in order to increase understanding of their relationship and how to effectively work with them in clinical settings. The focus is a qualitative consideration of the experiences of MOC individuals, specifically how their religious faith impacts the maintenance of their marriage and the experiences of sexual minorities and their spouses in the stages of forgiveness. The experiences reported by MOC individuals indicate that religious faith has a positive effect on their marital coping in various ways. The participants indicated they had experienced most, if not all, of the stages of forgiveness over the course of their relationship since the disclosure or discovery of same-sex attraction. Clinicians can help mixed-orientation couples who are pursuing the maintenance of their marriages by assessing their religious coping and by supporting and encouraging them in their religiosity and as they progress through the stages of forgiveness in their relationship.