Abstract
Most, if not all, faith traditions establish boundaries, some more subtle than others, to distinguish those who are within their community and those who are outside or “Other”. This chapter explores the nature and purpose of such boundaries and implications for social work professionals in working with communities and their religious leaders. The marginalization and/or exclusion of self-identified gay/homosexual individuals and those perceived to be gay/homosexual provides an example of how scripture may be used to justify or rationalize the exclusion of an identified group from faith communities, and potential interventions at the individual, family, and community levels.
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Loue, S. (2017). Issues of Inclusion and Exclusion. In: Handbook of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice and Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7039-1_18
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