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 […]
This Month in Queer Religious History* May: Joan of Arc On 30 May 1431, a nineteen-year-old peasant girl from the village of Domrémy in France was burned at the stake in the marketplace of Rouen, condemned as a heretic by a court of church authorities acting in the interests of England during the final decades […]
This Month in Queer Religious History* The 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights On 25 April 1993, the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Equal Rights and Liberation brought together approximately one million people for one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in US history. Organized at a time when queer people were responding […]
1 March 2026 This Month in Queer Religious History* Issan Dorsey: Sōtō Zen Monk and Teacher In the landscape of American Buddhism, few paths have been as unconventional (or as profound) as that of Issan Dorsey (7 March 7, 1933- 6 September 1990). A former drag queen, drug addict, and US Navy veteran who became […]
1 February 2026 This Month in Queer Religious History* Congregation Beit Simchat Torah On 9 February 1973, a small group of LGBTQ+ Jews gathered in a Manhattan living room for the first service of what would become Congregation Beit Simchat Torah (CBST), the world’s first LGBTQ+-founded synagogue. This humble beginning marked a revolutionary moment in queer religious […]
30 January 2026 Since any time of the year is a good time to talk about the fact that religious people have been advocating for LGBTQ inclusion for quite a while, your congregation might want to take the opportunity now to investigate the movement for LGBTQ equality within your tradition. You can then highlight your […]
1 January 2026 This Month in Queer Religious History* The 1965 New Year’s Benefit Ball in San Francisco “Drag queens and attendees at the New Year’s Mardi Gras Ball, held at California Hall in San Francisco on January 1, 1965. Photos from the Citizen’s News, in the Periodicals Collection of the GLBT Historical Society.” [San […]