Happy: LGBTQ+ Experiences of Australian Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity

This book relates the unique experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) people in Australian Pentecostal-Charismatic Christian churches. Grounded in the theoretical contributions of Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Lewis Coser, and others, the book exposes the discursive 'battleground' over the 'truth' of sex which underlies the participants' stories. These rich and complex narratives reveal the stakes of this conflict, manifested in 'the line' a barrier restricting out LGBTQ+ people from full participation in ministry and service. Although some participants related stories of supportiveif typically conservativecongregations where they felt able to live out an authentic, integrated faith, others found they could only leave their formerly close and supportive communities behind, 'counter-rejecting' the churches and often the faith that they felt had rejected them.

Tells the story of LGBTQ+ experiences of Australian Pentecostal Charismatic Christianity Grounded in the sexuality and gender theory of Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, and others Utilizes in-depth qualitative interviews with LGBTQ+ people

Autorentext
Mark Jennings (he/him) is the Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at Wollaston Theological College and University of Divinity in Australia. He has published on Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity, gender and sexuality, secularisation, and neoliberalism. He is the author of Exaltation: Ecstatic Experience in Pentecostalism and Popular Music.

Inhalt

Part 1. First Things.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Ecstatic ChurchPentecostal-Charismatic Christianity in AustraliaAntecedents, History, and Present Shape.- 3. A Happy ScienceLGBTQ+ Sexuality and Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity.- 4. Perfection and Anxiety: Theological and Scriptural foundations of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christian attitudes to LGBTQ+.- Part II The Narratives.- 5. The Battleground: discursive conflict between LGBTQ+ people and Pentecostal-Charismatic Churches.- 6. The Line: Barriers to Ministry and Community for LGBTQ+ People in Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity.- 7. Turbulent Waters: Australian Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity and Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Change Efforts.- 8. Attempted Integrations: LGBTQ+ Christians who remained in PCC Churches.- 9. Counter-RejectionsLGBTQ+ people leaving Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity.- 10. Born wrong: Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity and 'Troubling Bodies'.- Part III: Final Things.- 11. Epilogue.