An amazing variety of more than 30 LGBT and queer events are planned for the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) Nov. 22-25 in San Diego.
Presentations cover everything from African lesbians to a queer zoological reading of Song of Songs. Hot topics this year include religion and sexuality in debates over same-sex marriage, anti-gay laws in Africa, and queer interpretations of Paul's letters in the Bible. Scholars will also make connections between queer experience and many other facets of life, such as disability and ecology.
LGBTQ programs at the conference present liberating new ideas about the Bible, the church and the impact of Christianity on individuals. They go on to take a queer look at every major world religion from various racial, ethnic and cultural perspectives.
The joint annual meeting is the largest gathering of biblical and religion scholars in the world with more than 11,000 attendees.
There's surprisingly little about Jesus from a queer viewpoint. The only LGBTIQ event focused on Christ is "Jesus Is Still Acting Up! Celebrating Bob Goss' Scholarship and Ministry 20 Years Later." Author Robert Shore-Goss and a panel of scholars will reflect on his groundbreaking 1993 book "Jesus Acted Up: A Gay and Lesbian Manifesto."
Other books that are up for major LGBT discussion include "The Crisis of Islamic Masculinities" by Amanullah De Sondy and "Ain't I a Womanist, Too?: Third Wave Womanist Religious Thought" by Monica A. Coleman.
For a helpful list of LGBTIQ-themed sesssions at AAR, visit:
https://www.aarweb.org/2014-lgbtiq-themed-sessions
For LGBTIQ events at SBL, click this link and input the key word “queer”:
http://sbl-site.org/meetings/Congresses_ProgramBook.aspx?MeetingId=25
Reading the schedule provides a sneak-preview of the latest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer religious scholarship, even for those who can’t be there.
Best wishes to the many friends of the Jesus in Love Blog who will be attending and presenting at AAR-SBL!
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Jesus in Love Blog on LGBT spirituality and the arts