Queer Religiosities

Engaging and accessible, Queer Religiosities introduces students to the rich and challenging possibilities that emerge at the interconnection of queer and transgender studies and religion. Thematically organized chapters, undertaken with an intersectional approach, are filled with diverse and richly textured examples, drawn from various, mainly contemporary religious traditions and cultural forms (from ritual practices to popular art and film). These examples are interspersed with clear descriptions of critical concepts, approaches and consequential scholarship in these overlapping academic fields. Supplemental materials, including study questions, bibliographies, and an annotated filmography make this introduction readily teachable, and a vital resource for designing compelling university courses in religion and sexuality. Marked by Melissa Wilcox's honed and thoughtful pedagogy what Queer Religiosities ultimately offers its readers is a hopeful invitation to unsettle preconceptions. It encourages them to ask novel questions about how religion, queerness and transness can be and are interrelated.--Carly Daniel-Hughes, associate professor, Religions and Cultures, Concordia University Brilliant, cutting edge, field-defining--Queer Religiosities is the wonderful outcome we get when the foremost scholar of queer and transgender religious studies condenses their research and pedagogical expertise into a thrilling introductory text. Bringing together religious studies, queer studies, and trans studies, this landmark book also does much to move past the tired paradigm of world religions, not merely by criticizing that model, but by showing new ways to conceive how we approach religion. This book will be an indispensable guide for anyone interested in thinking about or teaching on religion, gender, and sexuality studies for a great time to come.--Anthony M. Petro, associate professor, Religion and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Boston University While now significant, and growing, areas of academic inquiry, there have yet to be any texts that introduce readers to queer and transgender studies in religion in their breadth and depth. Melissa Wilcox's Queer Religiosities fills this gap. Taking a thematic and intersectional approach, Wilcox surveys and explores the variety of ways that religion, same-sex desire, and gender variance intersect in scholarship that both draws from and speaks to lived experiences. A thoughtfully crafted and exceptionally well-written and engaging text, Queer Religiosities is an invaluable resource for undergraduates, graduate students, and anyone interested in the intersections of queer, transgender, and religious studies.--Brandy Daniels, lecturer and postdoctoral fellow, Religious Studies, University of Virginia Innovative and accessible, Queer Religiousities is the book I've been waiting for. Written by a scholar whose groundbreaking research helped to establish the field of queer and genderqueer studies in religion, it introduces the study of religion to the queer theorists, explains queer theory to the religionists, and pushes students and scholars in both fields to re-envision the intersections among these seemingly oppositional fields of study. I can't wait to use it in my classroom.--Heather White, visiting assistant professor, University of Puget Sound I'm grateful to Professor Wilcox for Queer Religiosities, and for more than one reason. Rather than offering a framework for what religion might be and then noting how particular traditions address questions of queer people and relationships (a common approach), this book weaves queerness into the conceptualization and framing of religion itself and its many, multiple expressions. Foregrounding the narrative and communal character of religiosity also invites a deeply textured exploration of where religion actually shows up in daily life and relational networks. The annotated filmography will be a welcome resource for teachers of all kinds, as will the thoughtful study questions and prompts for further inquiry. I'm eager to use this book in my seminary classes as well as for my congregation's education programs!--Rev. Jay Emerson Johnson, professor, Pacific School of Religion, and author of Peculiar Faith: Queer Theology for Christian Witness