Controversies in Queer Theology is now published

My second book, Controversies in Queer Theology, has just been published by SCM Press in the Controversies in Contextual Theology series (which also included Trans/Formations, the edited volume on transgender in which I had a chapter, and Through Us, With Us, In Us, the volume on relational theology to which I also contributed). This new book is an overview of some of the contentious questions surrounding queer theology: where does the term "queer" come from? Why use a term which has often been used as an insult in the past - and how and why have some people "reclaimed" queer as a positive term? To what extent does "queer" equal "lesbian and gay"?

Some of you will remember that I recently gave a paper at the Department of Theology and Religion Graduate Research Seminar in Exeter, entitled "Queer Theology, Hybridity and Race: Is Queer Theology Inherently White and Western?" This was based on a chapter in the new book, and examines whether or not "queer" terminology helps to overcome any of the "colonial" tendencies that some people saw in LGBT discourse in past decades.

Other questions I address in the book include: Is the Bible queer? Is the Christian theological tradition queer? Should queer people remain affiliated to the Christian tradition despite the fact that it has often been so unwelcoming to those whose sexuality is non-heterosexual? Is it meaningful to talk about "queer people" at all, given that many critics have questioned the usefulness of identity-based political groupings, and the fact that those who draw on queer critical theory often suggest that "queer" is not an identity at all, but rather a critique of identity per se?

I hope the book will be useful for those already familiar with queer theology, in terms of problematizing some of its tenets and highlighting the fact that it is not a homogenous or univocal phenomenon. However, I hope it will also be accessible for students and others who are less conversant with queer theory or the area in general, since I've tried to contextualize current debates in queer theology within a historical framework and have not assumed too much pre-existing knowledge.

I look forward to hearing what you make of it!