Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 951-968 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Sexualities |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 5-6 |
| Early online date | 12 Nov 2018 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Sep 2019 |
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Keywords
- metropolitan community church
- christian
- queer
- religion
- youth
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}
Queer liveability : inclusive church-scenes. / Cuthbert, Karen; Taylor, Yvette.
In: Sexualities, Vol. 22, No. 5-6, 01.09.2019, p. 951-968.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Queer liveability
T2 - inclusive church-scenes
AU - Cuthbert, Karen
AU - Taylor, Yvette
PY - 2019/9/1
Y1 - 2019/9/1
N2 - This paper explores queer religious youths' engagement with the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) – a church founded as a space of worship for LGBT Christians. Interested in sources of well-being in queer people’s lives, we show how MCC provided young religious queer people with a sense of home, family, and a phenomenological experience of 'fit' and 'ease'. We connect to literature on the subjectivisation of religion and suggest that MCC is a significant actor in this process, with spatial and liturgical practices which encourage the development of one’s own spiritual journey. However, we also temper these claims by showing how ‘tradition’ was still valued by many participants, evidenced in their continued affiliation with other (often non-inclusive) churches. We argue that this complicates arguments regarding 'inclusivity' as these 'non-inclusive' churches could also provide spaces of succour and support. Finally, we also consider MCC's relationship with queerness/LGBT: participants differed in whether or not they saw MCC as part of or apart from the 'scene', complicating questions raised about assimilation vs separatism, with the relative weight of 'LGBT' and 'Christian'.
AB - This paper explores queer religious youths' engagement with the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) – a church founded as a space of worship for LGBT Christians. Interested in sources of well-being in queer people’s lives, we show how MCC provided young religious queer people with a sense of home, family, and a phenomenological experience of 'fit' and 'ease'. We connect to literature on the subjectivisation of religion and suggest that MCC is a significant actor in this process, with spatial and liturgical practices which encourage the development of one’s own spiritual journey. However, we also temper these claims by showing how ‘tradition’ was still valued by many participants, evidenced in their continued affiliation with other (often non-inclusive) churches. We argue that this complicates arguments regarding 'inclusivity' as these 'non-inclusive' churches could also provide spaces of succour and support. Finally, we also consider MCC's relationship with queerness/LGBT: participants differed in whether or not they saw MCC as part of or apart from the 'scene', complicating questions raised about assimilation vs separatism, with the relative weight of 'LGBT' and 'Christian'.
KW - metropolitan community church
KW - christian
KW - queer
KW - religion
KW - youth
UR - http://journals.sagepub.com/home/sexa
U2 - 10.1177/1363460718772759
DO - 10.1177/1363460718772759
M3 - Article
VL - 22
SP - 951
EP - 968
JO - Sexualities
JF - Sexualities
SN - 1363-4607
IS - 5-6
ER -