Rebelling against one’s upbringing is a standard theme for artists; however, few have taken as dramatic a route to self-discovery as Tyler Glenn. The 32-year-old frontman for rock band Neon Trees was raised a Mormon, a faith he remained dedicated to even after realizing he was gay and coming out in 2014 at the age of 30.

Glenn initially attempted to balance both his LDS and LBGTQ lifestyles, but found himself at a crossroads in late 2015, when the church announced that it would deny baptism to the children of same-sex couples. At this point, the singer, who was additionally struggling with the painful ups and downs of his first public same-sex relationship, began an extraordinary journey of excising his doubts regarding the faith he had so staunchly defended.

The result was his first solo endeavor, Excommunication, which stands on its own for its unparalleled laser eye on Mormon teachings. Glenn pulled no punches with the lyrical matter of the record, upping the ante further with two controversial videos incorporating (and, at times, disparaging) Mormon symbolism. The set additionally bewitches with its infectious, dance-friendly melodies, which groove ironically under Glenn’s anguish, anger, and eventual acceptance.

Yahoo Music sat down with Glenn to discuss the process of making Excommunication, his choices in regards to finding a new path, and where he is now with his Mormon family, friends, and fanbase.

YAHOO MUSIC: You came out in 2014 with a resolution to remain Mormon. With all due respect, given the church’s history, didn’t you realize that this would be a difficult if not untenable path?

TYLER GLENN: I didn’t. I didn’t. Oddly, when I came out, I was greeted with a lot of respect and — weirdly — I felt embraced by the church. I began speaking publicly to LBGTQ and LDS kids and adults, and there was this weird sort of vibe that I was accepted and it was OK. They started to make public efforts to kind of change some of the verbiage they had used in the past — I think the church was trying to look a little more open. They developed a website called “Mormons and Gays.” So it was sort of very naïve on my part, but there was also this hope that I was helping carve a space for LBGTQ people. I think this record exists because I found out there isn’t one.

Your breaking point was when, last year, the church declared it would not recognize the children of same-sex couples. Again, given the church’s record regarding gay rights — such things as supporting California’s Proposition 8, etc. — why was this the final straw?

The thing for me was, I think I’d fought practically my entire life until I came out at 30 to make Mormonism work. The problem here was I believed it — I believed in all of it. So my whole wiring was that my orientation was something that I could suppress or repair or fix. So I think a lot of it had to do with me and my self-acceptance, and I think opening my worldview a little bit. For me it took the policy leak to examine: “OK, the line is definitely drawn here.” I think at that point I allowed myself to look at all the things I had questions about. I discovered that wow, this is not the true church, they don’t speak for God, and in fact, it’s just a system to me now that I feel is a bit not for our time. So now I’m extremely, passionately not anti-religious or anti-Mormon, but more passionately looking at what is true and real.

In a past interview you noted that anti-gay sentiment wasn’t a big focus of your religious teachings — that it was more scholarly than anything. That probably comes as a surprise to many people who aren’t familiar with the religion and might associate it with evangelical-type “hellfire and brimstone” preaching.

It’s pretty doctrinally based, yeah. Like gospel-based stuff on Sundays, sure. I think it’s recently only been in, like, the last year that I’ve really keyed into the narratives that the leaders use when they’re talking about gay issues. It’s very… they don’t even acknowledge us as homosexuals. That to me is violent from the get-go, that I’m not even recognized by my nature — it’s a thing that I can overcome, an attraction I suffer from. I reject that, I completely reject that.

When you first started conceiving your solo project, what was your initial objective? Did you want to work through your faith crisis? Express rebellion? Educate others?