Catholic and Christian Organizations Can Support LGBTQ+ Immigration

In an interview with the Union of Catholic Asian News, a leading immigration scholar discussed the ways that Church support can assist sexual minorities in countries with punitive policies. 

George Radics

George B. Radics, a senior lecturer at  the National University of Singapore discussed his research findings on the role that Christianity, and Catholicism in particular, plays at the intersection of migration and LGBTQ+ rights in Southeast Asia. 

Radics recently wrote a paper entitled “God’s Children on the Move, Christian Support of Internal and External Migration for LGBT Communities,” which he presented at the conference “Framing Migration: The role of religious actors in the production of international law.” The project was requested by the Institute of the Initiative for the Study of Asian Catholics (ISAC), a collaborative of Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore.

“When I was invited to contribute to this ‘Framing Migration’ seminar, I sought the freedom to be critical of the Catholic Church and Christian organizations,” Radics said. “ISAC was open to my request, and I decided to contribute.”

In his wide-ranging research, Radics found that LGBTQ+ rights — or the lack thereof — are a major driver of internal and external migration. Marriage is a crucial factor in the migration process, since it affords legal protections and can facilitate external migration for couples. In some cases, affirming Churches can help regularize people’s status even if their government won’t:

“People would talk about things like gay marriage, and spoke about how they traveled to certain areas, say New York, where gay marriage was allowed, and so they decided to get married. They would say that the marriage transformed their lives, even after returning to their home country…

“A marriage document is useful in many legal situations, like applying for tourist or family reunification visas. In terms of international migration, gay marriage facilitated tourism and family reunification. Same-sex individuals moved because they wanted to get married. If they couldn’t marry in their home country and have it recognized, they could do so in Canada, the US, or now Thailand. 

“These were major push factors for migration…I saw that churches played an important role in this process because, often, even if your marriage is not recognized by the state, you can still go to your church and get married.That documentation can also facilitate international migration.”

The desire to be able to be out as LGBTQ+ and still be able to participate in a religious community also plays a big role in  internal migration, Radics said, compelling residents of rural areas to move to more tolerant urban centers.This trend is somewhat softened among younger generations because the prevalence of digital media lets LGBTQ+ youth feel they can access community without relocating. 

Timor-Leste’s LGBT community members gesture during a rally organized for a Pride Parade in Dili on July 29, 2022.

As for the Church, Radics said that his research expanded his perception of the role Catholicism and Christianity play in Asia’s LGBTQ+ attitudes:

“My initial belief that Christianity was a threat to LGBT rights became more nuanced as I began speaking with queer Christians.

“What I found was that, even though the Church can be publicly hostile to LGBT rights, often it is privately tolerant. Almost every queer Christian that I interviewed knew another queer Christian, priest, pastor, or even imam.

“They are out there, part of the community, but just not very visible. While the main branch of the Catholic Church or a specific Christian denomination may be anti-gay, there are different types of churches that spin off and offer the support and community that the main branches do not provide.

“There are also other denominations you can start or join that are more queer-friendly. I also found that many people discover their identities when they go to college. Many larger colleges are located in bigger cities and are sometimes Catholic or religious.”

It’s extremely important that religious institutions preach some form of tolerance or inclusion for LGBTQ+ people, Radics said. The scholar believes that international agreements — which often hinge on Western-aligned human rights conditions — will not truly impact people on the ground without local laws. The churches play a large role in changing social attitudes in favor of legal protection. Furthermore, if pro-LGBTQ+ sentiments were more indigenous to local contexts, then Southeast Asian countries would be positioned to craft more culturally authentic international policies: 

“I believe religious actors have the power to shape domestic politics. They can influence voting populations and impact a nation, leading to political leaders who are more inclusive, tolerant, and accepting of queer identities. 

“Once national politics shift in that direction, we’ll have political leaders at the national level who can take on an international role. That can influence these policies. Unfortunately, when we discuss queer rights, it’s often portrayed as Western intervention in the Global South or local cultures. This feels like a foreign concept. 

“If more countries in the Global South were more accepting of queer identities and played a larger role in shaping international law, then the international agreements passed could better reflect and embrace diverse cultures.”

—Jeromiah Taylor, New Ways Ministry, Decembr 3, 2025