Gay Religion

I've picked up a new book, Gay Religion, edited by Scott Thumma and Edward R. Gray.  Published in November 2004 by Altamira Press, it is a compilation of essays by academics and practitioners about gay practice and identity in a cross-section of spiritual communities.  From Seventh-day Adventists to evangelicals to Jews to the gay male leather community, this book has an essay to interest any sub-niche that is typically the focus of mainstream dissmisal.  There are broader essay topics as well, such as religious music, spiritual identity growth, etc.  I hope to use this text as a jumping off point for some thought this month about my own spiritual journey.

As it is useful for our readers, I'll post.  In the meantime, this is a recommendation for a book that could easily be integrated into classroom or personal study.  Some of the essays that I'm excited to read include:

"The Gay God of the City: The Emergence of the Gay and Lesbian Ethnic Parish" (Leonard Norman Primiano)

"Negotiating a Religious Identity: The Case of the Gay Evangelical" (Scott Thumma)

"Shades of Grey or Back to Nature? The Enduring Qualities of Ex-Gay Ministries" (Christy M. Ponticelli)

"Pluralism and Diversity: Music as Discourse and Information in a Gay and Lesbian Congregation" (W. Bernard Lukenbill)

"A Religion of One's Own: Gender and LGBT Religiosities" Melissa M. Wilcox

There's more.  The book has 21 chapters, plus an appendix with resources for LGBT spirituality.

Comments

[Joe Perez]

I followed the link to the publisher's website and read this: "Gay Religion is the first book to give a straightforward presentation of the spiritual lives, practices and expressions of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender." The FIRST? LOL. Sounds interesting, but really! Colleen, please do let us all know if teh book lives up to its publishers' billing. ;-)

[ck]

Yes, the marketing blurb is a bit over the top. I'll definitely review it more in depth-- some of the chapters are way outside of my experience, others very applicable, so I'll read the former first, since I have a better perspective on them.