Public Theologies of Love in the Civitas Dei and Civitas Terrena: Sexuality and the Transformation of Sydney, Australia 1960-2010
This article discusses the emergence of a public LGBTQI culture in Sydney that both challenged hetero-normative philosophies and praxes of love and sexuality, and engaged with Christian urban theologies to give voice to alternative, queer-affirming forms of eros, agape, and philia. This case study i...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis
[2015]
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| In: |
Theology & sexuality
Year: 2015, Volume: 21, Issue: 2, Pages: 85-104 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Sydney
/ LGBT
/ Sexual ethics
/ Public theology
/ History 1960-2010
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| IxTheo Classification: | CG Christianity and Politics FD Contextual theology KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBS Australia; Oceania NCF Sexual ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
proper and improper love
B Urban Theology B Augustine of Hippo B Public Theology |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | This article discusses the emergence of a public LGBTQI culture in Sydney that both challenged hetero-normative philosophies and praxes of love and sexuality, and engaged with Christian urban theologies to give voice to alternative, queer-affirming forms of eros, agape, and philia. This case study is situated in the context of the problematic relationship between Christianity and the urban throughout history; the ideal Civitas Dei negated the real Civitas Terrena, faithful Jerusalem triumphed over decadent Sodom. Public theologies, initially formulated by Christians, were hijacked to expose tensions resulting from notions of “proper” and “improper” love being mapped onto urban spaces. Churches and other “official” structures represented planning in the service of institutional religion and heterosexual married love (a Civitas Dei), and the clean, modern city as eschatological ideal (the heavenly Jerusalem). The existence of ruins and “undesirable” places, temporary heterotopias where “unnatural” acts of love and sex took place, challenged this order (a Civitas Terrena or Sodom). We argue that public theologies, mainstream and fringe, play a vital creative role in the planning, regulation, and lived experience of the modern city of Sydney. |
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| ISSN: | 1355-8358 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Theology & sexuality
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/13558358.2016.1206681 |