Eastern Orthodox Studies Unit, Gay Men and Religion Unit, and Queer Studies in Religion Unit

Queer Studies, LGBTQI+ Lives, and Orthodox Christianity

Orthodox-majority contexts, communities, and leaders often cause terrible harm to LGBTQ+ persons through homophobic violence, discourse, and policy. Sexual diversity is perhaps the most polarizing issue facing the modern Orthodox world—from the ecclesial discourse surrounding Pride parades and the conflict in Ukraine, to the Orthodox Church in America’s statement against discussing sexuality—and its real-life effects cannot be understated. Yet, international initiatives over the past decade as well as recent publications (Orthodox Tradition and Human Sexuality (Fordham, 2022) and Gender Essentialism and Orthodoxy: Beyond Male and Female (Fordham, 2023)) have argued Orthodox tradition has resources within it to address issues of gender and sexuality with greater openness and theological consistency. This session will ask: what would a queering of Orthodoxy and an Orthodox engagement with Queer Studies look like? We welcome paper and pre-arranged panel proposals that accurately elucidate or constructively address any aspect of LGBTQ+ identity and Orthodox Christianity and its related topics (asceticism, celibacy, eunuchs, same-sex marriage, sexual ethics, queer theology, bodily agency, etc.) from any discipline (sociology, anthropology, history, theology, etc.).