QUEER RELIGION: THE EXHIBITION
Winner: Portrait of Britain
Semi-finalist: Head On Photo Festival
Shortlisted: RPS International Exhibition
Shortlisted: Helsinki Photo Festival
Shortlisted: Taylor Wessing Award
The goal of this collection is to force conversation between two of the greatest paradoxes that exist today: Queerness and Religion. As a queer atheist I want to spotlight and celebrate prominent openly queer leaders in religion. These subjects risk so much personally in order to live in their truth and create positive change within the monotheistic religions. The subjects captured provide a safe space within institutions that historically have promoted queerphobia.
“Religion is more than belief, it’s power and it’s influence. That influence affects all of us regardless of your own belief. Criticism does not change things, neither does invalidation. So how do we walk this tightrope?”
Chelsea Sheilds
“Black Queer Christian identity has taught me not just to exist but to thrive, as me, as the person God made me to be – it has gifted me spaces of deep belonging amongst chosen family who, each in their way, rock my soul, carry my griefs and share my joys!”
Fr. Jarel Robinson Brown
He/him
“Queerness in Religion is as innate to faith as love is, where love is the foundation of our faith. My queerness and faith as a Muslim and my love for Allah and all creation are one and the same.”
Shaira Choudhury
They/she, Muslim and Co-Founder of TransActivismUK
“Without a bit of queerness, religion can grow rigid and sour. Queer people and perspectives offer renewal, an opening out to those who would otherwise turn away. The ultimate queerness we can approach is the divine, the totally other which is also the elusive meaning within ourselves.”
Rabbi Mark Solomon
He/him
“I think religion has always been somewhat queer. My Christian faith speaks of God born as a powerless baby, who turned social structures on their head, and proclaimed the radical equality of all people.
Sounds pretty queer to me.”
Fr. Charlie Bell
He/him
“The root of Islam is to recognize, empathize, and devote ourselves to the One that connects all of creation. My queerness and the queerness of many Muslims I have built community with through Al-Wāsi’ Collective is a vehicle that brings us towards this devotion to One, i.e., Allah. So, to be queer and Muslim is not only reconiciable, but inherently complimentary to my spiritual growth.”
Nathalie E. Amazan
She/her, Muslim, co-creator of Al-Wāsi’ Collective
“Many people, perhaps unknowingly, make rather exaggerated claims using the Bible as their source to oppose homosexuality. But homosexuality plays a very minor role in the Bible, much smaller than the rules on food, farming, care of the stranger and charity.”
Harrie Cedar
They/them, Jewish Chaplain, Kings College London
“Over thirty years ago I woke with the words formed in my mind assuring me that God loved me in my sexuality. Gradually I realised that God loved me in my gender identity too. May this be true for you.”
Mthr. Christina Beardsley SMMS
She/her
“For me, being queer and being Muslim are both acts of resistance. Outwardly and on my own terms, according to my boundaries, my faith is evident and so is my queerness (if you look closely, that is). Seeing my identity as a sanctuary has helped me to accept every part of myself. Alhamdulillah.”
Deenah al-Aqsa
She/her
“The diversity of human experience, including queerness, reflects the boundless creativity of the divine, teaching us to embrace all expressions of love and identity within religious communities.”
Revd Jide Macaulay
He/him
“Rabbi Meshulum Zusya’s (z”l) students asked why he was afraid of dying. ‘In the world to come I will not be asked why were you not Moses? What will I say when I am asked: why were you not Zusya?’ Our queerness & spirituality thrive when we are empowered to be our authentic, congruent selves, inclusive of our sexual orientation and gender identity.”
Rabbi Indigo Jonah Raphael
He/they
“After centuries of silence and denial, and after the last 50 years of speaking out in the Catholic Church, queerness is finally being recognized and accepted. Thank you, Pope Francis, for your love and support!”
Sister Jeannine Gramick, SL
She/her, LGBT+ Ally
“Our sages teach that the splendour of the Divine is held in diversity: When a person stamps coins with a seal, the coins are identical. However, when God stamps all humanity with the seal of Adam, we are all unique.”
Rabbi Natasha Mann
She/her
“So often, queer people are told that our sexuality can’t be reconciled with a deep religious faith. We get that message not only from church leaders but also from queer persons who have been hurt by religious communities. The God I believe in is The Infinitely Loving One who embraces all without exception. It is a joy both to be a Black gay witness to the power of that transforming Reality – and to lead the church into being a less imperfect reflection of that love.”
Bryan Massingale
“Queerness and Islam has to expand on the conversation about submission. Submission to my faith and queerness: a form of peaceful acceptance of the terms of the universe, to allah, including the things we are currently unable to change or comprehend!”
Sazia Patel
She/her, Muslim, co-creator of Al-Wāsi’ Collective
“The perceived incompatibility between religion and queerness is odd, given that religion is centred around a relationship with God who, by nature, is ‘other’. Unsurprisingly, many who know themselves to be ‘other’ more fully comprehend the enormity of God’s love.”
Fr. Simon Buckley
He/him
“Catholic and gay, is that possible? Yes it is. Being a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and working with the clergy and hierarchy, the focus is to make the ‘respect, sensitivity and compassion’ of our Catechism a reality for all.”
Ruby Almeida
She/her
“Throughout history religion has adapted and developed to reflect new knowledge and the reality of the time. A person’s gender or sexuality is not a barrier to their religious practice or spiritual connection. We all come as full humans with a multitude of identities and all of which should be embraced and celebrated. Humanity was made perfectly in a divine image therefore, each and everyone of us is holy.”
Cantor Tamara and Rabbi Anna Wolfson
She/hers
“When I came out to my grandmother, who brought me up, she said she’d only worried about one thing – that I would never feel able to tell her. This is the response of love. It’s the response of God. While many like to assess us by what we are not, God welcomes us for who we are, blessing the human journey and our harbours of love that keep us safe.”
The Very Rev’d Dr Mark Oakley
Dean of Southwark
“Love does not exist. Love is in the evidence. Being true to who we are as LGBTQIA+ people is the evidence that God is Love for every human being.”
Fr. Bernárd Lynch
He/him
“Whilst struggling to reconcile my gender identity and my faith, I saw an openly gay, Anglican priest and counsellor who helped me to realise the dignity in all of God’s creation. It helped me to see that there was dawn and dusk between the light and dark we read about in Genesis and this has enabled me as an educator to accept everyone, including myself, as truly made in the image of God.”
George White
He/him, Trans Catholic Teacher
“Some Queer people have made me feel ashamed for identifying as religious. Some Muslims have made me feel guilty for embracing my sexuality. However, there is no separating the two because they are essential parts of me. And also, have no impact on one another in the slightest.”
Zain Islam-Hashmi
“The truth shall always set you free. For me it took 40 years to embrace God’s truth that ‘I am fearfully and wonderfully’, setting me free to be authentically me. Please remember, God never makes mistakes!”
Jayne Ozanne
Founder, Global Interfaith Commission on LGBT Lives
