Growing Up Gay “In My Super Fundamentalist Christian Church”

Kevin James Thornton grew up in a small Christian town in Indiana. His early life started at a Baptist church, but once he discovered a Mega Church focused on rock bands and the youth, he became enamored and doubled down on his faith. A Jesus loving, self motivated chiId then teen, he loved his fully immersive church and heavily partook in extremely questionable youth events, but something inside himself felt wrong. Driven by his desire to fit in and “fix himself” he wouldn’t even allow himself to have the thought that he was gay. He attended youth group bible study religiously and went to inner city parks in NYC dressed as “sin” clowns to perform “morality plays”. They even put on extreme HeII based haunted houses with graphic scenes played out by the youth.  Things started to feel grim for Kevin once the group graduated high school and the boys he had crushes on coupled up and got married, leaving Kevin feeling more alone than ever.  Always having buried who he really was, it wasn’t until he escaped to college and found himself in a new group within theater that the inner turmoil would subside.  Kevin dives into what it was like selling everything to move to LA to become a comedian, and how he blew up on TikTok during the pandemic by sharing his old bible study memories (with a splash of autotune).Click here to watch on YouTubeTour dates and tickets:  Websites: https://www.kevinjamesthornton.com/https://www.shamalahamala.com/Follow Kevin on social media:YT: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNQbKNgL8bcuH8z4pzh9flwIG: @kevinjamesthornton  TT: @kevinjamesthornton Subscribe to our C2C "CLIPS" Channel!Support C2C - Any donations are welcome and appreciated to support the making of this podcast.Find our FULL (uncensored) merch store here!Patreon https://www.patreon.com/cultstoconsciousnessVenmo @sheliseannFind us on Social media!Instagram @cultstoconsciousness Host Instagram @sheliseann Co Producer / Host @jonathan.rosales_ TikTok @cults.to.consciousness Twitter @cultstocon **Disclaimer: Thanks for joining us at Cults to Consciousness. This storytelling podcast is meant to be for entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for medical advice. We may discuss triggering topics and we ask that you make your personal mental health a priority. Lastly, the opinions of our guests do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the host.**Chapter Marks00:04:24 Kevin's early church experiences as a southern baptist00:06:58 How Kevin changed churches and why it appealed to him as a teenager00:09:40 How this mega church appeared to be less conservative but doctrinally the opposite00:10:50 What Kevin's parents thought about his dedication to church00:12:14 What the messages were like at the new church00:14:28 Youth group mission trips to inner cities00:19:10 Messages from the church and the pressure to proselytize and bring more people to the church through events00:22:35 Kevin's dissonance with his s*xuality00:26:56 The story about home bible study during youth group00:30:13 How people in the same situations can have different experiences00:33:25 The mega church's haunted houses for Halloween00:37:27 Kevin's feelings at the time on the haunted houses00:39:06 When Kevin started to realize there were issues with his church00:43:28 How seeing other gay people be acceptable helped Kevin accept himself00:47:14 How his old youth group felt about Kevin's new life in college00:49:56 How reaching out can make someone second guess the best path for themselves00:52:17 Kevin's shift from his old life into the comedy scene00:59:11 How an app and the pandemic changed Kevin's comedy01:06:08 How Kevin is doing today01:11:47 Linda, ListenSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.