Do Lesbians Really Reside Behind the Nunnery Doors?

After a recent visit to the Dominican Sister Motherhouse, I came across the possibility of how many nuns live the in silence of being lesbians.

Just as I was leaving the grounds after a retreat, I glanced over to the garden area and I noticed a happy couple snuggling closely, staring off into the sunset. I said out loud to a friend of mine, " Oh I didn't realize the sisters could have boyfriends!" She quickly pointed out that it was not another man--it was a woman. I really had to do a double take.

With a strict religious lifestyle that has to conform to several different rules, restrictions and regulations, many nuns are forced into a life of finding love and companionship within their convents or sisterhoods.

Many sisters have been in the Motherhouse for years. This can be a lonely life for some. According to statistics, turning to another sister for love and sexual companionship is norm for many who chose to live this lifestyle. This so called "Secret Society" is quite common in many convents and nunneries, but has been a guarded secret for generations.

It has remained taboo and definitely kept very quiet over the course of time. This is to protect the sisterhood and prevent negative opinions about the sisters.

This so called "Secret Society" runs much deeper than just over the past few generations. Lesbianism has been a forte in many nun's lifestyles dating back into the 1600's. It has been privately known that many nuns have formed lifelong relationships and kinship's with one another within their own religious communities.

Society sometimes blames the strong devotional lifestyles that many stricter segments have broken into that has lead nuns to this lifestyle of same-sex intimacy.

Many couples keep their relationships hidden or secret from other nuns or from the public. Many do not venture out into society very often, especially when the Motherhouse provides and caters to all of their needs, from housing, meals, medical care and of course, God.

In recent years there has been some reports of abuse within many sisterhoods. Many older nuns are recruiting and coaxing younger nuns into relationships that they may not find acceptable or be ready for. Many younger nuns have the utmost respect and admiration for their older counterparts, so there is a feeling of authority as they look up to these women. Some have be threatened with an elimination within the church and the nunnery, therefore leaving them with a scarred and tattered history -- forcing them to look outside of the doors of the nunnery to pick up the pieces and make a life for themselves.

Not all relationships formed in the house of God are ones of a sexual nature. Many sisters only look to one another for close friendships or emotional relationships.

Many nuns live celibate lives and continue to serve their Motherhouse in a pure and wholesome way. The good that most nuns do to help others is something that many take for granted. Spending years devoting oneself to God is a calling that is truly a gift.

The true number of sisters who choose to live their lives loving one another in every sense of the word is unknown and may never be authenticated, but the "Secret Society" that resides behind the Holy doors is just a intriguing as it is a mystery.