Augustine of Hippo: Saint who rejected his bisexual past, defended intersex people
After a sexually active and probably bisexual youth, Augustine of Hippo became an influential early Christian theologian who was sex-negative but argued that God created intersex people. This contradictory queer saint’s feast day is Aug. 28 in western Christianity....
Ethiopian eunuch and Philip: Early church welcomed queers in Bible story
A queer black man was welcomed as an early Christian convert in Biblical times, according to progressive Bible scholars. He was a triple outsider -- a gender-variant foreigner from a racial minority -- and his story shows that the early Christians welcomed all kinds...
Black Madonna of Czestochowa becomes lesbian defender Erzuli Dantor
The Black Madonna of Czestochowa, one of the most famous Catholic icons, is the model for a Haitian Vodou goddess who protects lesbians. Traditional images of Erzulie Dantor, the Vodou defender of lesbians, are based on the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, whose feast...
Bayard Rustin: Gay saint of racial justice and non-violence
Bayard Rustin was a black gay activist and the genius behind the civil rights movement. He became the chief organizer of the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington where where Martin Luther King gave his historic “I Have a Dream Speech.” A follower of the Quaker faith...
Bernard of Clairvaux and Malachy: Abbot and the archbishop he loved
Bernard of Clairvaux was a medieval French abbot who wrote homoerotic poetry about Jesus and had a passionate same-sex friendship with Irish archbishop Malachy of Armagh. Bernard is best known for founding 70 monasteries around Europe and for his mystical writings....
Robert Wood: First clergy to picket for LGBTQ rights, author of first book on Christianity and homosexuality
Robert Watson Wood was an ordained Congregational minister who started advocating for LGBTQ rights in the early 1960s. He died Aug. 19, 2018, at age 95. In 1960 Wood urged churches to welcome lesbian and gay people in America’s first book on homosexuality and...
Marsha P. Johnson: African American transgender woman at Stonewall Uprising
Marsha P. Johnson was an African American transgender woman activist and one of those credited with starting the Stonewall Rebellion that launched the modern LGBTQ liberation movement. A bold black trans street activist and lifelong Christian, she was nicknamed “the...
2026 brings new LGBTQ Christian books
New LGBTQ Christian books are being published in 2026, including theology, Bible, history, memoir, church life and spirituality by diverse authors. Q Spirit presents summaries of LGBTQ Christian books released this year, plus lists of titles that are coming soon or...
Mary, Diana and Artemis: Feast of Assumption has lesbian goddess roots
A mid-August holiday was once the festival of the lesbian goddess Diana (Artemis), but it has been adapted into a feast day for the Virgin Mary. Midsummer feasts have celebrated the divine feminine on Aug. 15 since before the time of Christ. Now devoted to Mary, the...
Joseph and the queer Biblical princess dress
Joseph, a popular figure in the Bible’s Book of Genesis, can be seen as a gender-nonconformist who inspires LGBTQ people today. Queer Bible scholars focus on how Joseph wore a robe that is usually known in English as a “coat of many colors,” but could be translated as...
Radclyffe Hall: Queer Christian themes mark banned book “Well of Loneliness”
A queer Christ figure is the main character in the classic lesbian novel, “The Well of Loneliness” by Radclyffe Hall. She was born on Aug. 12, 1880 in Bournemouth, England. The book was banned for obscenity in England in 1928, not just because it portrayed lesbian...
Blessed John of La Verna: Kissed by Jesus
Blessed John of La Verna is a medieval Italian friar known for his visions of kissing and being kissed by Jesus. His feast day is Aug. 9. John also had an intense relationship with fellow friar and poet Jacopone da Todi. Traditional writers have done “gender...
Delores Berry: Black lesbian evangelist blessed many with music
Delores P. Berry is a black lesbian clergywoman and evangelist whose music and ministry blessed many. She died on Aug. 8, 2017, at age 66 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania after a brief illness. Berry was born Feb. 15, 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland. She answered a call to...
Jacob and the angel: Wrestling to reconcile body and spirit
When Jacob wrestled with the angel in the Bible, they embodied the struggle between sexuality and spirituality. Queer Bible scholars and religious leaders have grappled with the story and artists have created many homoerotic images of the scene over the centuries. It...
Kuan Yin: A queer Buddhist Christ figure?
Kuan Yin, the genderfluid spirit of compassion in Buddhism, is sometimes thought of as a queer Christ figure or LGBTQ role model. Buddhists celebrate the enlightenment of Kuan Yin every year in July or August. This year the date is Aug. 1, 2026. Transcending gender...
Patrick Leuben Mukajanga (Mleuben Maccarthy) : Ugandan pastor and LGBTQ activist
Patrick Leuben Mukajanga, known by many as Mleuben Maccarthy, was a gay Ugandan pastor and LGBTQ activist. He died in a motorcycle accident while riding from Kampala to his home in Ibanda town on July 31, 2020 at age 43. A memorial portrait of Mukajanga was created...
Martha and Mary of Bethany: Sisters or lesbian couple?
Mary and Martha of Bethany were two of Jesus’ closest friends. The Bible calls them “sisters” who lived together, but reading the Bible with queer eyes raises another possibility. Maybe Mary and Martha were a lesbian couple. Their feast day is July 29. Mary and Martha...
Lazarus: Jesus’ beloved disciple?
Some believe that Lazarus of Bethany was the “beloved disciple” of Jesus -- and maybe even his same-sex lover. He is celebrated on July 29 in contemporary Catholic and some Protestant churches. Scholars theorize that Lazarus was also the unnamed “one whom Jesus...
Boris and George: Russian saints united in love and death
Saint Boris is one of the oldest and most popular Russian saints, but his same-sex love story was buried until modern scholars brought it to light. Boris and his servant George the Hungarian loved each other deeply and were murdered together. The feast day of Saint...
Symeon of Emesa and John: Holy fool and hermit who loved each other
Sixth-century Syrian monks Symeon and John were joined in a same-sex union and lived together as desert-dwelling hermits for 29 years. After a tearful split-up, Symeon went on to become known as the Holy Fool of Emesa, the patron saint of all holy fools (and...
Daniel and the three young men: God rescues Biblical eunuchs, affirming LGBTQ people of faith
Some see the prophet Daniel and the chief eunuch Ashpenaz as a same-sex couple or queer couple. In a hotly contested translation, the Bible describes the “favor and tender love” that he bestowed on Daniel. LGBTQ people find role models in Bible stories about eunuchs,...
Saint Wilgefortis: Holy bearded woman fascinates for centuries
Saint Wilgefortis prayed to avoid marriage to a pagan king -- and her prayers were answered when she grew a beard! This “virgin martyr” virgin martyr has natural appeal for LGBTQ people. Her feast day is July 20. She was removed from the official Vatican calendar in...
Nancy Ledins: First transgender Roman Catholic priest made headlines in 1979
Nancy Ledins made national news as “America’s first female Roman Catholic priest” and first transgender Roman Catholic priest after gender confirmation surgery in 1979. She died on July 18, 2017, at age 82 in North Carolina. Newspapers nationwide covered her...
Good Samaritan: LGBTQ views of Bible story on helping strangers
Lovingkindness from one man to another is celebrated in the Bible story of the Good Samaritan. Could one or both characters be LGBTQ? The parable of the Good Samaritan will be read at many churches worldwide as the gospel reading for July 16, 2028 in the three-year...
All-time favorites at Q Spirit
Top 22 LGBTQ Christian books of 2025 named
Check out the top 22 LGBTQ Christian books of 2025 — including theology, Bible, memoir, church life and history by diverse authors. The list was announced today by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry, founder of Qspirit.net. “Creativity was this year’s hottest...
Trans Saints? Early cross-dressing monks and martyrs share similar lives
Early Christian cross-dressing monks are being reclaimed as possible transgender or LGBTQ saints. At least 30 saints share a similar story: They escaped their lives as women and lived as men, joining monasteries or becoming religious hermits. Often they were desperate...
Litany of Queer Saints
LGBTQ saints and martyrs are remembered in the Litany of Queer Saints from Q Spirit. The prayer was created by Q Spirit founder Kittredge Cherry. She also wrote a major essay on why we need LGBTQ saints. Both traditional and alternative saints are featured. It is a...
Why we need LGBTQ saints: A queer theology of sainthood
It’s time to welcome the queer saints. Many believe that saints and other souls will visit for Halloween, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, and Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos). The LGBTQ saints are important because people are searching for alternative ways to lead...
Kittredge Cherry: Christianity inspired me to come out as a lesbian
I am celebrating my birthday on Oct. 21 by re-posting this reflection on my coming-out story and life journey as a lesbian Christian. During my birthday month, I try to appreciate my own accomplishments and reflect on my dreams for the future. My 2025 birthday wish:...
Rainbow Christ Prayer: LGBTQ flag reveals the queer Christ
Colors of the LGBTQ rainbow flag reveal the many faces of the queer Christ in the following Rainbow Christ Prayer by lesbian Christian author Kittredge Cherry and gay theologian Patrick S. Cheng. The Rainbow Christ Prayer honors the spiritual values of the LGBTQ...
Gay Passion of Christ blog series starts Palm Sunday at Q Spirit
A gay vision of Christ’s Passion will run during Holy Week here at Q Spirit. Reflections and art will be shared online daily from Palm Sunday through Easter (March 29 - April 5, 2026). All 24 paintings in the original version of Douglas Blanchard’s “The Passion of...
Black Jesus, Latinx Jesus, Asian Jesus, female Christ and other liberating visions join the gay Passion of Christ
Liberating visions of Jesus as Black, Latinx, Native American or female join with the gay Passion of Christ series to help people experience God more fully. “All people are made in God’s image, so it is important to envision Jesus as queer, Black, brown, female and...
Queer Nativity scenes show love makes a family
I create my own queer Nativity scenes for the Christmas season. One has two Marys at the manger with the baby Jesus, and the other features two Josephs with the Christ child. I put Mary with Mary and Joseph with Joseph—just like putting two brides or two grooms on top...
Sign up: Free newsletter on LGBTQ spirituality and the arts
You are invited to sign up for a free subscription to the monthly Q Spirit newsletter on LGBTQ spirituality and the arts from Jesus in Love. The e-newsletter covers LGBTQ saints and the queer Christ, with an...
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Art That Dares
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