This study explores Black Canadian youth’s relationship with religion and the impact religion has on their mental health and wellbeing. In addition, we probed promising practices for religious leaders and service providers who want to improve Black youth’s access to care. The results of this article draw from a larger study that aimed to explore the barriers and facilitators to mental healthcare for Black youth in Ontario, Canada. 128 (n = 66 youth, n = 35 service providers, n = 27 family and community members; 91% Black, 24% people of colour, 67% white) participants from six regions across Ontario were engaged in 23 qualitative focus groups held virtually between March 2020 and August 2021. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three themes emerged from the data: The stigma and taboo nature of mental illness, the influence of religion and mental health and suggestions to improve care for Black youth. Mental illness is stigmatized in specific ways in Black communities and intergenerational differences exist in how mental illness is conceptualized. In addition, Black Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and other diverse or marginalized sexual orientations and gender identities (2SLGBTQ+) youth face additional difficulties in relation to stigma. Religion and religious affiliation stigmatized mental illness yet, both were considered important for inclusion in traditional mental health supports. To improve access to care for Black youth, there is a need for community-practitioner partnerships, incorporating religion into traditional mental healthcare, and increasing mental health awareness in religious and community spaces. This study is among the first to explore the impact of religion on Black youth’s mental health, findings can contribute to increased access to affirming and responsive care for this population.

这项研究探讨了加拿大黑人青年与宗教的关系以及宗教对他们心理健康和福祉的影响。此外，我们还探讨了那些希望改善黑人青年获得护理机会的宗教领袖和服务提供者的有希望的做法。本文的结果来自一项更大规模的研究，该研究旨在探讨加拿大安大略省黑人青年心理保健的障碍和促进因素。来自安大略省六个地区的 128 名参与者（n = 66 名青少年、n = 35 名服务提供者、n = 27 名家庭和社区成员；91% 黑人、24% 有色人种、67% 白人）参加了 23 个以虚拟方式举行的定性焦点小组2020 年 3 月至 2021 年 8 月期间。使用主题分析对数据进行分析。数据中出现了三个主题：精神疾病的耻辱和禁忌、宗教和心理健康的影响以及改善黑人青少年护理的建议。在黑人社区中，精神疾病以特定的方式受到污名化，并且精神疾病的概念化方式存在代际差异。此外，黑人双性恋、女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋、跨性别者、酷儿/质疑者和其他多样化或边缘化的性取向和性别认同 (2SLGBTQ+) 青少年面临着与耻辱相关的额外困难。宗教和宗教信仰使精神疾病蒙上阴影，但两者都被认为对于纳入传统心理健康支持很重要。为了改善黑人青年获得护理的机会，需要建立社区从业者伙伴关系，将宗教纳入传统心理保健，并提高宗教和社区空间的心理健康意识。这项研究是首批探讨宗教对黑人青少年心理健康影响的研究之一，研究结果有助于增加该人群获得肯定和响应性护理的机会。