Queer Theologies in the Contemporary Global South

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2024) | Viewed by 8676

Special Issue Editors

Department of Theology, Starr King School, Oakland, CA 94613, USA
Interests: queer theologies; gender studies; queer studies; migration studies; cultural studies; ethnic studies
Theology & Religious Studies, University of Wales Trinity St. David, Lampeter Campus, Lampeter SA48 7ED, Wales, UK
Interests: queer theologies; liberation theologies; feminist theologies; eco-theologies; psychology of religion; mysticism; queer theory

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The focus of this Special Issue is queer theologies in the context of different religions, including Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism. Primarily considering the context of the Global South, inclusive churches, and emerging contextual queer theologies, the articles featured in this Special Issue will offer a range of rich perspectives and insights. Our aim is to span different contexts in which, transversally, we observe the agency of people and communities of faith in deconstructing spirituality, sacred texts, and beliefs. 

This Special Issue aims to demonstrate the Divine’s relationalities with all people in different spiritual paths and contexts. Every article will draw from various sources, experiences, and realities to analyze how queer believers theologize and counter the discourses that aim to ostracize them from faith communities. We will obtain an enriching global perspective beyond the traditional focus on experiences rooted in the Global North.

There is an increasing need to pay attention to how queer theologies currently unfold, not only in Christianity but in all religious bodies in the Global South. Most academic research has focused on the Global North for the last thirty years. The consequences are varied, ranging from a lack of visibility for the religious experience of queer believers to the unknown development of literary and theological production in languages other than English. There is a lack of research that delves into examining the biographies of popular saints, the statements of the religious institutions regarding the relationship between faith and sexuality, and the creation of contextual spiritualities that takes into account the daily lived experiences of queer believers. Therefore, this Special Issue will provide various resources to foster this needed and much-awaited development in current research.

Dr. Hugo Cordova Quero
Prof. Dr. Lisa Isherwood
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • queer theologies
  • global south
  • Islam
  • Christianity
  • Buddhism
  • Judaism
  • Latin America
  • Asia
  • Africa
  • contextual theologies

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 274 KiB  
Article
Doing Dialogue Differently: Queer Interfaith Perspective
by Inatoli Aye
Religions 2023, 14(5), 583; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050583 - 28 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1131
Abstract
This paper attempts to bring queer perspectives to interfaith dialogue in India. It will first consider what is interfaith dialogue and will situate interfaith dialogue within the framework of a theology of religions and a theology of missions. It will then offer an [...] Read more.
This paper attempts to bring queer perspectives to interfaith dialogue in India. It will first consider what is interfaith dialogue and will situate interfaith dialogue within the framework of a theology of religions and a theology of missions. It will then offer an evaluation of some works accomplished by National Council of Churches in India with regard to the question of interfaith dialogue and sexuality. Finally, it will look at whether Christians in interfaith dialogue can learn anything from a queer reading of Hindu sacred texts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Queer Theologies in the Contemporary Global South)
20 pages, 357 KiB  
Article
Walking Indecently with Marcella Althaus-Reid: Doing Dissident and Liberative Theologies from the South
by Anderson Fabian Santos Meza
Religions 2023, 14(2), 270; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020270 - 16 Feb 2023
Viewed by 2158
Abstract
This theological reflection is a motivation to walk in the footsteps of Marcella Althaus-Reid to discover the disruptive principles of Latin American Queer Theology. Between tangos and popular music, libertine evocations and dissident stories, prosthetic considerations, and transit strategies, this indecent text indicates [...] Read more.
This theological reflection is a motivation to walk in the footsteps of Marcella Althaus-Reid to discover the disruptive principles of Latin American Queer Theology. Between tangos and popular music, libertine evocations and dissident stories, prosthetic considerations, and transit strategies, this indecent text indicates some revitalizing ideas that manifest the need to think and inhabit the Global South in a more queer way. The voice of the South is powerfully theological and potentially revolutionary. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Queer Theologies in the Contemporary Global South)
14 pages, 347 KiB  
Article
Divinas tetas: Doing Theology from Mutilated Bodies
by André Sidnei Musskopf and Ana Ester Pádua Freire
Religions 2023, 14(2), 191; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020191 - 31 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1845
Abstract
The article is an exercise in constructing theology from a Latin American perspective in dialogue with queer studies and theologies. The starting point is the tragic death of Lorena Muniz, a transwoman, in the process of getting breast implants making evident aspects of [...] Read more.
The article is an exercise in constructing theology from a Latin American perspective in dialogue with queer studies and theologies. The starting point is the tragic death of Lorena Muniz, a transwoman, in the process of getting breast implants making evident aspects of gender oppression, cis-sexist aesthetic pressure, and state neglect of health care specific to the trans population as denounced by ANTRA (National Association of Travestis and Transexuals). From this context, the article discusses a hermeneutics of mutilation in relation to Latin America and to the experience of trans people and introduces countersexuality (Preciado) as a way to resist the mutilations of cis-heteropatriarchy. With those tools in hand, the last part of the article realizes an exercise of theological and religious imagination engaging with the song Vaca profana (Caetano Veloso/Gal Costa) as a possible way of reconciling the reality of Lorena Muniz’ death with the hope for a different future through the symbolism of the divinas tetas [divine tits]. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Queer Theologies in the Contemporary Global South)
16 pages, 340 KiB  
Article
Malaysian Roman Catholic Transgender Men, Simultaneous Failures in Gender and Religion, and Customisations of Spirituality and Ethical Living
by Joseph N. Goh
Religions 2023, 14(2), 171; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020171 - 29 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1873
Abstract
In conservative, mostly Malay-Muslim Malaysia, transgender people are frequently articulated in mainstream Muslim and Christian discourses as gendered anomalies and recalcitrant religious dissidents. Due to the fact that normative gender identities and expressions are generally indexed as valid and, thus, ‘successful’ indicators of [...] Read more.
In conservative, mostly Malay-Muslim Malaysia, transgender people are frequently articulated in mainstream Muslim and Christian discourses as gendered anomalies and recalcitrant religious dissidents. Due to the fact that normative gender identities and expressions are generally indexed as valid and, thus, ‘successful’ indicators of social and religious coherence among Malaysians, transgender people who are unable and/or unwilling to abide by regimes of gendered and religious normativity are regarded with scorn as simultaneous failures in gender and religion. By framing my analysis and theorising of selected narratives from two Malaysian Roman Catholic transgender men through Judith/Jack Halberstam’s concept of the queer art of failure, I argue that some transgender men of faith actively repudiate such disdainful perceptions by embracing gendered and religious failures, an intellectual resolution which they then translate into strategic customisations of their own spirituality and ethical living. These customisations, anchored in an unshakeable belief in God’s loving support and their inherent value in God’s eyes despite ecclesiastical disapproval, are acts of subversion that respond impertinently to and defy hegemonic ideologies of gender and religion, and re-imagine alternative knowledges, values, powers, and pleasures towards meaningful forms of liveability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Queer Theologies in the Contemporary Global South)
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