Jennifer Knapp Returns to Christian Music, Caught Between Faith and Being Gay

Dove and Grammy Award-winning Christian pop rock/folk singer and songwriter Jennifer Lynn Knapp has returned to the music scene after a seven year absence and is confirming the rumors - she's gay.

Knapp, 36, spoke on Tuesday with Christianity Today, The Advocate and Reuters about her brand new album "Letting Go," her travels throughout Europe and Australia and her struggle to reconcile her Christian faith and her sexual identity. The news has even landed her in USA Today's "Faith and Reason" section. She has denied leaving the industry over initial rumors of her same-sex relationship.

"I'm certainly in a same-sex relationship now, but when I suspended my work, that wasn't really even a factor," she told Christianity Today's Mark Moring. "I had some difficult decisions to make and what that meant for my life and deciding to invest in a same-sex relationship, but it would be completely unfair to say that's why I left music."

Although Knapp is not the first Christian music artist to "come out" (Ray Boltz announced to the Washington Blade in 2008 that he was gay), she is undoubtedly one of the more prominent.

When asked how she has responded to what Scripture says about homosexuality, Knapp said, "The Bible has literally saved my life. I find myself between a rock and a hard place-between the conservative evangelical who uses what most people refer to as "the clobber verses" to refer to this loving relationship as an abomination, while they're eating shellfish and wearing clothes of five different fabrics, and various other Scriptures we could argue about."

She also admitted, "I'm not capable of getting into a theological argument as to whether or not we should or shouldn't allow homosexuals within our church. If God expects me, in order to be a Christian, to be able to theologically justify every move I make, I'm sorry. I'm going to be a miserable failure."

Knapp additionally confessed she is not currently attending church and that "Letting Go" (slated for a May 11 release) will not be targeted to the Christian music world. It will not be sold in Christian bookstores, nor will it find its way to Christian radio airwaves. It will, however, be the true test of her fan base. Will they still accept her and her music despite her sexuality?

"I think it's going to be shocking and feel like a betrayal to some people who live their spiritual lives through the music they listen to," she told The Advocate, a prominent LGBT publication.

The singer said that her decision to come out to the public ahead of her album release was completely intentional and that she did not want fans to discover the truth about her sexuality after the fact.

At the end of the day, Jennifer Knapp says this is an opportunity for her to be "wholly myself" and that she believes her Christian faith and same-sex lifestyle can finally co-exist, even if the majority of her fans and colleagues disagree.

"I'm quite comfortable to live with parts of myself that don't make sense to you," she said.

Knapp is currently on tour with friend and former Caedmon's Call member Derek Webb, a straight and happily married man, whose recent song entitled "What Matters More" has been the subject of much debate for its criticism of antigay Christians. Their tour will wrap up at the end of this month. Knapp's official and updated biography can be found at her web site: www.jenniferknapp.com.