Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Fairchild, Emily

Keywords

MCC, Gender, Queer, Queer Church, LGBT, Sociology, Queer Christianity, Metropolitan Community Church, Gay, Lesbian, Spirituality

Area of Concentration

Sociology

Abstract

The Metropolitan Community Church, as a liberal mainline Christian denomination that caters to the LGBT community, provides an open and safe space for people with non-normative sexual and gender identities to practice religion. However, Christianity has a history of being a patriarchal and heteronormative institution. As a progressive denomination, the MCC strives for gender equality, but still works within a religion built on rigid hierarchies. Twenty qualitative interviews were conducted with attendants of a MCC church to determine how queer men and women understand gender in their gay-affirming church. The aim was to determine what role gender plays in the church, as described by this group of gay and bisexual men and women. Participants valued spirituality as important and came to the church for community and activism more than religious rituals. Some saw gender within the church, in both patriarchal and queer ways; others seemed to studiously not see gender in the church, and this serves as a possible example of gender blindness. Results suggest possibilities of expanding queer theory to include religion and spirituality as positive forces in the lives of LGBT people, while further exploring LGBT lives in an organized Western religion

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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