LGBTQ+ people have always been part of the life of faith communities, but our stories are often not told from the pulpit, not included in adult formation programs or religious education classes, and rarely preserved in congregational archives. When a community does not know its queer history, it loses the valuable witness of people whose […]
This Month in Queer Religious History* August: Looking Back on A Year of Celebrating Queer Religious History This month concludes a full year of This Month in Queer Religious History. Written by Bernie Schlager, PhD, Executive Director of The Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion (CLGS), this series has run from September 2025 […]
This Month in Queer Religious History* July: Marsha P. Johnson On 6 July 1992, the body of Marsha P. Johnson, only 46 years old, was recovered from the Hudson River in New York City, not far from the Christopher Street pier where she had spent so much of her life. A central figure in the […]
Click here to view a video recording of this LGBTQ-RAN and CLGS event! At this joint LGBTQ-RAN/CLGS event, Bernard Schlager interviewed Steven Law on his recently published book The Story of Bob: The Life & Times of Robert W. Wood (Pilgrim Press, 2026). Rev. Robert Wood (1923-2018), World War II veteran and ordained Congregational Christian (later United Church […]
This Month in Queer Religious History* June: The 1972 Ithaca Statement on Bisexuality In late June of 1972, more than 100 Quakers (the popular name for members of The Society of Friends) gathered for an impromptu workshop at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, during the Friends General Conference, the annual gathering of socially-progressive Quakers […]
On 19 June 1865 Union General Gordon Granger proclaimed in Galveston, Texas, the federal government’s decree that all previously-enslaved people in Texas were free; this proclamation was read over two and a half years after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, which had been signed by President Abraham Lincoln on 1 January 1863. It is this […]
Pride festivals—held in many towns and cities across the country—are a fantastic way to reach out to LGBTQ people and our allies and let people know about your inclusive stance. It is also an important witness that people of faith can be accepting and supportive of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Your […]