Queer Theology and Social Transformation Twenty Years after Jesus ACTED UP
Published in 1993, Goss's Jesus ACTED UP was one of the first attempts to articulate both a radical queer theology and a mission of mainstream social transformation. The subsequent 20 years have revealed gaps between the two, precisely as mainstream LGBT politics has embraced (or perhaps exploi...
| Main Author: | |
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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: 3, Pages: 189-197 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Goss, Robert 1948-, Jesus acted up
/ Queer theology
/ Activism
/ Social change
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| IxTheo Classification: | FD Contextual theology NCD Political ethics NCF Sexual ethics |
| Further subjects: | B
Queer Theology
B Assimilation B born this way B Queer B Social Construction B scholar-activist B alt-ac |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | Published in 1993, Goss's Jesus ACTED UP was one of the first attempts to articulate both a radical queer theology and a mission of mainstream social transformation. The subsequent 20 years have revealed gaps between the two, precisely as mainstream LGBT politics has embraced (or perhaps exploited) religion. I focus on four tensions for those straddling the scholarship/activism lines. First, what we are doing: queer theology, and academic discourse generally, value that which is nuanced and complex; mainstream activism prefers the simple and clear. Second, what we want: radical liberation requires systemic change, while mainstream activism works pragmatically and incrementally within the system. Third, who we are: queer theory and theology emphasize the socially constructed and mutable natures of the subject, but mainstream social transformation has “won” with essentialism (“Born This Way,” love is love, etc.). Fourth, what about God: the queer, ironic, eroticized God of queer theology remains, thus far, incomprehensible in the public square where only the unreconstructed God is known. These tensions have erupted in numerous political and social contexts in the two decades since Bob Goss tried to bring radical theology and mainstream activism together, though I conclude by noting that only now might the public square be ready for what he and other queer theologians have to offer. |
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| ISSN: | 1355-8358 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Theology & sexuality
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/13558358.2015.1222675 |