• Where Three Or More Are Gathered: Gay Polyamorous Friendship as an Ecclesial Phenomenon

    Author(s):
    Nathan A. Kennedy (see profile)
    Date:
    2016
    Subject(s):
    Gays, Sex--Religious aspects
    Item Type:
    Conference paper
    Conf. Title:
    Gay Men and Religion Section
    Conf. Org.:
    American Academy of Religion
    Conf. Loc.:
    San Antonio, Texas
    Conf. Date:
    November 21, 2016
    Tag(s):
    Gay and Lesbian, men having sex with men, queer theology, sexual ethics, Queer/gay, Religion and sexuality
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6251FJ7S
    Abstract:
    Given the contemporary emergence of polyamory as a visible social reality in light of the Obergefell decision, the question of exactly who in the LGBTQIA community has “won” takes a newfound urgency. Within history and Christian tradition, gay “polyamory” defined by friendship has a long and rich presence that even has taken a uniquely clerical character. Within such communities, where amor and filia have long enjoyed an ambiguous yet rich relationship, a certain Communio emerges whose character I interpret as ecclesial. I argue that gay polyamory is an embodied ethic that creatively deconstructs socio-sexual ethics, and that this performs the crucial theological task of resistance and liberation from bodies that perpetuate normalized socio-sexual ethics. By examining the development and invention of moral categories within sexual ethics and their relationship to normativity and its transgression, this paper explores the phenomenon of gay polyamorous friendship as a form of ekklesia.
    Metadata:
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    5 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved

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