Queer Youth of Faith
National Essay Contest
2026
Awarding $5,000 in academic scholarships to high school seniors!
Beloved Arise, a national organization dedicated to celebrating and empowering LGBTQIA+ youth of faith, is hosting our fifth annual Queer Youth of Faith National Essay Contest. Open to high school seniors residing in the United States, this essay contest awards $5,000 in scholarships and creates a platform for LGBTQ+ youth of any faith, religion, or spiritual community to share their stories.
Buddhist | Christian | HINDU | Jewish | Muslim | Sikh | etc.
Past Essays
As seen in…
2024 Lavendar Paint
“Each day, I embrace the fullness of my being A queer Christian, not a Christian who happens to be queer. Not white and blue and red, but one perfect color. A lavender-colored life.”
Lutheran & Queer • Virginia
2024Balance
“Tao, I realize I want to be merciful. I want to be understanding. I want to be compassionate. And I want to help return the world to balance. I want people to embrace who they are and accept others and themselves, whether it means they are queer or not.”
Taoist & Gay • California
2023 My Rainbow Altar
“…acts of kindness became a leading figure in my life. Completing service for others was a core idea that I learned through Sikhism and wanted to apply it anywhere I could.”
Sikh & LGBTQ+ • Connecticut
2020 Love Does No Harm
“…I looked up to the sky, and on my knees, brought God back into my life. Since that night, I have fallen in love with my queerness, and I have grown so much in my faith. I have never felt more joyful and confident.”
Christian & LGBTQ+ • Illinois
Essay Prompt
Write a letter to fellow queer youth of faith. How would you encourage peers who hold both LGBTQ+ and spiritual identities? Include parts of your story and moments that brought you hope. Spend intentional time writing from the heart — what do you wish someone had told you? Let this be a piece that sends light to someone who needs it.
Contest requirements:High school seniors ages 16-20
Resides in the United States
Identifies as LGBTQ+ and a person of faith
The Essay must be between 500-600 words
Video entry is required to enter
Winning essays will:Demonstrate a creative writing style that makes the story come alive
Reflect a fresh, authentic voice for queer youth of faith
Present a compelling, memorable insight or unique point of view
Deadline
March 1st, 2026
Five winners will be announced by June 30th on #QYFDAY. If you have any questions, please reach out to hello@belovedarise.org
FAQ
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Beloved Arise's mission is to celebrate and empower LGBTQ+ youth of faith. This essay contest is one of the ways we celebrate our youth and create a platform for them to share their stories with the world. We hope these stories will inspire and encourage other young people who are navigating the intersections of faith and queerness.
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The contest is open to high school seniors (age 16-20) residing in the United States who identify as LGBTQ+ and a person of faith.
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Entries are due by March 1st, 2026 at 11:59 PM PT—one essay entry per person.
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Awarding $5,000 in academic scholarships to high school seniors!
Ten winners will receive college scholarships, at $500 each, to be applied to tuition fees for an accredited community college or university of your choice. These scholarship funds will be sent directly to the college identified by the winner and must be utilized within 2 years after the contest winners are announced.
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A judging team that includes Beloved Arise board members, staff, and youth leaders are responsible for reading the essays and working together to select the top five essays.
The top ten essays will be announced on our social media on June 30th, as apart of Queer Youth of Faith Day celebration, and may be featured in news publications.
We will do our best to feature as many of the essays in social media, news outlets, Beloved Arise publications, and other channels so that we can share your stories with the world!
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An important part of Beloved Arise's mission is to celebrate LGBTQ+ youth of faith and share their stories with the world. By submitting your essay and entering this contest, you grant Beloved Arise the right to use your essay, name, photos, and video in our marketing activities, website, social media channels, news outlets, and other communications and programs.
All entrants must complete and sign our Essay Contest Consent & Release Form. If you are under 18, you must have permission from a parent or legal guardian to enter this contest.
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1. The contest is open to high school seniors (age 16-20) residing in the United States who identify as LGBTQ+ and a person of faith.
2. Your essay must be 500-600 words or fewer, not including the title.
3. Your essays must be the author’s original work, written specifically for this contest. Please do not submit anything you’ve already published in a school newspaper, blog, another contest, or elsewhere.
4. Submit only one essay per person.
5. All entrants must complete and sign our Essay Contest Consent & Release Form. If you are under 18, you must have permission from a parent or legal guardian to enter this contest.
6. Five winners will receive college scholarships to be applied to tuition fees for an accredited community college or university of your choice. These scholarship funds will be sent directly to the college identified by the winner and must be utilized within 2 years after the contest winners are announced.
7. Your essay must not be false, defamatory, misleading, hateful, infringe the copyright or any other third party rights, or otherwise be unlawful.
8. All submissions become the property of Beloved Arise and may be used on our website, social media, news outlets, and other communications and programs.
9. Beloved Arise employees, board members, contest judges, and their dependents are not eligible to enter this contest.
If you have other questions, please reach out to hello@belovedarise.org
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Our Collection of Personal Narratives by Queer Youth of Faith
Free to download and available for purchase
This collection of personal narratives amplifies the voices of queer youth of faith—young people who are courageously exploring what it means to live fully and authentically at the intersection of faith and identity.
In 2025, Beloved Arise—the first national organization dedicated to celebrating and empowering LGBTQIA+ youth of faith—invited LGBTQ+ high school seniors across the country to reflect on this prompt: “As a queer person of faith, what traditions, rituals, and/or practices make you feel joy, peace, and a sense of belonging?”
The essays that emerged are powerful stories of resilience and revelation—of heartbreak, healing, and holy joy. They reveal the sacred in the everyday and testify to the strength found in community, spiritual practice, and self-acceptance. May these stories inspire you to discover your own rhythms of belonging— and to remember this truth: you are deeply loved. You are Beloved.
✨ The ebook is free to download, add it to your cart to checkout.
✨ Now available for purchase on Amazon and Kindle →
100% of the profits go to funding our work with LGBTQ+ youth.
This collection of personal narratives represents the voices of queer youth of faith, many of whom face pressure to choose between their faith and the freedom to live authentic lives. These are their stories of heartbreak and hope. Of courage and compassion. Of discovering life in the overlapping spaces between faith and identity. We hope their stories inspire other youth to find their own voice and, ultimately, to embrace the truth about who they really are Beloved.
In 2024 Beloved Arise, the first national organization dedicated to celebrating and empowering LGBTQIA+ youth of faith, held a national essay contest for LGBTQ+ high school students. Please open your heart as you read their stories.
✨ The ebook is free to download, add them to your cart to checkout.
✨ Now available for purchase on Amazon and Kindle →
100% of the profits go to funding our work with LGBTQ+ youth.
Add To Cart
This collection of personal narratives represents the voices of queer youth of faith, many of whom face pressure to choose between their faith and the freedom to live authentic lives. These are their stories of heartbreak and hope. Of courage and compassion. Of discovering life in the overlapping spaces between faith and identity. We hope their stories inspire other youth to find their own voice and, ultimately, to embrace the truth about who they really are Beloved.
In 2023 Beloved Arise, the first national organization dedicated to celebrating and empowering LGBTQIA+ youth of faith, held a national essay contest for LGBTQ+ high school students. Please open your heart as you read their stories.
✨ The ebook is free to download, add them to your cart to checkout.
✨ Now available for purchase on Amazon and Kindle →
100% of the profits go to funding our work with LGBTQ+ youth.
Hear the powerful voices of queer youth of faith in this collection of 14 personal narratives—finalists from the Beloved Arise 2020 QYF National Essay Contest. These are their stories of heartbreak and hope, of courage and compassion, of discovering life in the overlapping spaces between faith and queerness.
✨ The ebook is free to download, add them to your cart to checkout.
✨ Now available for purchase on Amazon and Kindle →
100% of the profits go to funding our work with LGBTQ+ youth.