Negotiating Spiritual Violence in the Queer Community

Edited by:
Jeff Sapp, California State University Dominguez Hills
Paul Chamness Iida

A volume in the series: Research in Queer Studies. Editor(s): Hidehiro Endo, Akita International University.

Published 2019

This volume is an attempt to serve as a venue for giving a voice to queer people from all faiths and no faiths to describe how they negotiate or have negotiated spiritual violence in their lives, as well as the voices of heterosexual allies who strive for the inclusion of queer people as a counter narrative to spiritual violence of full inclusion and embracement and demonstrate that some communities of faith do not operate from paradigms of violence, but instead operate with love, affirmation, and inclusion. These counter narratives are important.

This volume is a collection of narratives that describe a variety of experiences – stories of pain and rejection, joy, and overcoming and transformation. The voices of the authors in this collection are a mixture of personal narratives, theoretical or academic thought, and because art and spirituality often go hand-in-hand, some of the authors offer the reader more creative writing that reflects their ideas.

CONTENTS
Introduction and Overall Framework, Jeff Sapp. Catalyst, Jeff Sapp. PART I: TRAUMA AND RELIGION. Part I Introduction, Jeff Sapp. Waiting for the “Yes”, Christy E. Newman. The Inclusion and Exclusion of the Faithful, Natalie Hickman. The Sword of Biblical Authority, Tim Rymel. Queering Their Honor, Izat El Amoor. From Spiritual Violence to Total Rejection: The Spiritual Journey of a Church Musician, Paul Chamness Iida. “Intrinsic Disorder”: A View From Inside the Catholic Church in Australia, Paul Venzo. Another Hospital Story, J. D. R. Mechelke. The Path of Freedom: Gender in the Tantric Tradition of Arya Tara, Nick Dickinson. Part I Conclusion, Paul Chamness Iida. PART II: RECONCILIATION. Part II Introduction, Jeff Sapp. The Living and the Dead, William E. Smith III. The Tale of an Elephant: Trumpeting the Acceptance of LGBTQ+ Individuals in Religious Communities, Rob McKinney. Waken Up by Spiritual Violence, Armed for Compassionate Education, Jason Man-bo Ho. The Clobber Passages: You Have Your Scripture and I Have Mine, Jeff Sapp. A Transgender Woman’s Struggle Between Gender Identity and Christianity, K. Rachel Snow. Negotating Spiritual Violence in the LGBTQ Community, Rotraut Jampa Wurst. Narrative of Persecution— Narrative of Forgiveness, Andrew Marr. Redemption, Kimberly Skach. Queer Fables, Jeff Sapp. Part II Conclusion, Paul Chamness Iida. PART III: ALLIES. Part III Introduction, Jeff Sapp. Bible Verses Like Grenades, Brianna Colon. My Life With Others, James Morin. From a Mother, to Her Daughter, Susie Rawlings. Letter to Brandon, Travis Norvell. Part III Conclusion, Paul Chamness Iida. Conclusion, Jeff Sapp. About the Editors. About the Contributors.