Christian music singer comes out as a lesbian
Sat. April 17, 2010 12:00 AM by GoPride.com News Staff
singer jennifer knapp comes out
photo credit // jenniferknapp.com
A popular Christian music singer who basically vanished in 2003 after a very successful (but short) career has now come out as a lesbian.
Jennifer Knapp told Christianity Today that the rumors have always been true; she has been in a same-sex relationship for eight years. However, she said, that was not the only reason that she left music. "That was a straw [in my decision], but there were many straws on the camel's back at the time," she said. "Around 2002, I was starting to contend with this new-found `issue' in my life.
"But I'd already decided to leave music before I knew I was going to contend with that. I don't want anyone to think that I ran out of town with my tail between my legs because I had something to hide."
She told Christianity Today that she doesn't struggle with being a lesbian. "The struggle I've had has been with the church, acknowledging me as a human being, trying to live the spiritual life that I've been called to, in whatever ramshackled, broken, frustrated way that I've always approached my faith," she said. "I still consider my hope to be a whole human being, to be a person of love and grace. So it's difficult for me to say that I've struggled within myself, because I haven't. I've struggled with other people. I've struggled with what that means in my own faith. I have struggled with how that perception of me will affect the way I feel about myself.
Knapp's new album "Letting Go" will be released on May 11. She was born in Kansas and released her first album, "Kansas" in 1998. It was followed by Lay It Down (2000), and The Way I Am (2001). She was also nominated for a Grammy.
This summer she will tour with the Lilith Fair music festival, which will be in Chicago on July 17th at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre.The Lilith Fair was founded by Sarah McLachlan in 1997 because she was frustrated with concert producers who refused to let two female musicians play in a row. In 1997, Lilith Fair made $16 million gross, making it the top-grossing of any touring festival that summer. Knapp performed at that first Lilith Fair; the festival has been on hiatus since 1999.
Jennifer Knapp told Christianity Today that the rumors have always been true; she has been in a same-sex relationship for eight years. However, she said, that was not the only reason that she left music. "That was a straw [in my decision], but there were many straws on the camel's back at the time," she said. "Around 2002, I was starting to contend with this new-found `issue' in my life.
"But I'd already decided to leave music before I knew I was going to contend with that. I don't want anyone to think that I ran out of town with my tail between my legs because I had something to hide."
She told Christianity Today that she doesn't struggle with being a lesbian. "The struggle I've had has been with the church, acknowledging me as a human being, trying to live the spiritual life that I've been called to, in whatever ramshackled, broken, frustrated way that I've always approached my faith," she said. "I still consider my hope to be a whole human being, to be a person of love and grace. So it's difficult for me to say that I've struggled within myself, because I haven't. I've struggled with other people. I've struggled with what that means in my own faith. I have struggled with how that perception of me will affect the way I feel about myself.
Knapp's new album "Letting Go" will be released on May 11. She was born in Kansas and released her first album, "Kansas" in 1998. It was followed by Lay It Down (2000), and The Way I Am (2001). She was also nominated for a Grammy.
This summer she will tour with the Lilith Fair music festival, which will be in Chicago on July 17th at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre.The Lilith Fair was founded by Sarah McLachlan in 1997 because she was frustrated with concert producers who refused to let two female musicians play in a row. In 1997, Lilith Fair made $16 million gross, making it the top-grossing of any touring festival that summer. Knapp performed at that first Lilith Fair; the festival has been on hiatus since 1999.