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...
Sally Miller Gearhart: Lesbian educator and activist who challenged the church
Sally Miller Gearhart was a lesbian educator, theologian, activist and author of books including the 1974 classic “Loving Women / Loving Men: Gay Liberation and the Church.” She died on July 14, 2021 in Ukiah, California, at age 90 after a long illness. Gearhart’s...
Steve Pieters: Gay minister, longtime AIDS survivor, LGBTQ activist and friend
I celebrate the life of my friend and colleague Steve Pieters, influential gay clergyman, LGBTQ activist and one of the longest-surviving AIDS patients. It was considered a miracle that he survived. His ground-breaking 1985 interview with televangelist Tammy Faye...
Shulamite in Song of Songs: Gay, lesbian or queer Biblical love poem?
One of the greatest love poems of all time, the Bible Song of Songs, may have been written as same-sex love poetry. Paul R. Johnson translated it as “a gay love poem” and Angela Yarber sees it as erotic poetry between a woman and her female lover. Others are...
Artemisia Gentileschi paints strong Biblical women
Baroque artist Artemisia Gentileschi inspires many with her paintings of strong Biblical women -- created despite the discrimination and sexual violence that she faced as a woman in 17th-century Italy. She was born on July 8, 1593. Although Gentileschi was apparently...
Clergyman picketed for LGBTQ equality in Fourth of July 1965-69 protests
Early LGBTQ rights protests happened every Fourth of July from 1965 to 1969 in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Among the protesters was Robert W. Wood, the first member of the clergy to picket for LGBTQ rights. [2026 update: “The Story of Bob: The Life and...
Publick Universal Friend: Queer preacher reborn in 1776
A queer American preacher woke from a near-death experience in 1776 with the sense of being neither male nor female. Adopting the name Publick Universal Friend instead of Jemima Wilkinson, this fascinating nonbinary American fought for gender equality and founded an...
Pauli Murray: Queer saint who stood for racial and gender equality
Human rights champion and queer African American saint Pauli Murray is a civil rights pioneer, women's rights advocate, author, Episcopal priest and lawyer whose legal arguments were used in landmark Supreme Court decisions outlawing discrimination. The gender...
Paul the Apostle: Did his homosexuality shape Christianity?
Struggle against his own homosexual desires in an intolerant society may have inspired Paul the Apostle to write sublime Biblical teachings on unconditional love and inclusivity -- and also a few “clobber passages” used by anti-LGBTQ bigots. Both Paul’s sense of...
UpStairs Lounge fire: 32 killed in deadly attack on LGBTQ people
Before the Orlando Pulse massacre, the deadliest attack on LGBTQ people in U.S. history was an arson fire at the UpStairs Lounge, a gay bar in New Orleans. The fire killed 32 people on June 24, 1973. It is enlightening the re-examine the UpStairs Lounge fire in the...
Donald Boisvert: Gay theologian, religion professor, author and Canadian Anglican priest
Donald Boisvert was a gay theologian, religion professor, author and priest in the Anglican Church of Canada. He died on June 19, 2019 at age 67 after a long illness. His books include “Out on Holy Ground: Meditations on Gay Men’s Spirituality” (2000), “Sanctity and...
Marinos / Marina the Monk: Transgender parenting role model and patron saint
Marinos or Marina the Monk has been called a patron saint of transgender parenting or a cross-dressing saint. Assigned female at birth, Marina adopted the name Marinos and entered a monastery as a man in fifth-century Lebanon. Marinos embraced a male identity from...
Saints of Stonewall inspire LGBTQ justice — and artists, authors and film makers
LGBTQ Pride celebrations are rooted in sacred resistance -- when queer people fought back against harassment at New York City’s Stonewall Inn, they launched the modern LGBTQ liberation movement on June 28, 1969. Their bold rebellion against government persecution of...
David and Jonathan: Same-sex love between men in the Bible
Love between men is celebrated in the Bible with the story of David and Jonathan. “Your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women,” David said in his famous a lament for Jonathan. David’s feast day is Dec. 29. Their relationship inspires LGBTQ people and...
Rainbow Christ Prayer in 30 languages: LGBTQ flag reveals the queer Christ in translated prayers
Available in 30 languages, the Rainbow Christ Prayer matches the colors of the LGBTQ Pride flag with the many faces of the queer Christ. Here the prayer is presented in the original English, plus Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, Dholuo, Estonian, French, German,...
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...
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...
James Tinney: Black gay professor who founded LGBTQ church in 1982
James S. Tinney was a black gay professor who founded an African American LGBTQ church in Washington DC in 1982. He died at age 46 on June 12, 1988, from complications due to AIDS. Born in Kansas City on May 12, 1942, he was ordained as a Pentecostal minister when he...
Orlando martyrs: Pulse gay nightclub massacre recalled in art and prayer
LGBTQ people and allies use art and prayer to remember the 49 martyrs killed in the massacre at the Pulse gay bar on June 12, 2016, in Orlando, Florida. A mass shooter killed 49 people and left 53 wounded at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The hate crime...
Codebreaker Alan Turing honored in queer spiritual art
Alan Turing is a gay icon, pioneering computer scientist and British codebreaker. He is sometimes called a gay saint because his wartime codebreaking saved millions of lives, and a gay martyr because he was probably driven to suicide by court-ordered “chemical...
Homosexuality of Jesus explored by 18th-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham
Biblical arguments for LGBTQ rights and a queer Jesus may seem like new ideas, but they were pioneered about 200 years ago by an influential British philosopher -- in writings that were never published until the 21st century. Philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832)...
LGBTQ Christian cartoons reveal God’s love for all
God’s love for LGBTQ people is revealed at Q Spirit in an ongoing series of cartoons by David Hayward, known as nakedpastor. Prints and other items are available at Nakedpastor.com. [Update: “The Rainbow Sheep” (children’s picture book) by David Hayward was released...
Uganda Martyrs raise questions on religion and LGBTQ rights
Tough questions about homosexuality, religion and LGBTQ rights are raised by the 45 Uganda Martyrs whose feast day is June 3. In 2024 Uganda’s Constitutional Court upheld one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, including the death penalty for “aggravated...
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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| Art That Dares:
Gay Jesus, Woman Christ, And More
By Kittredge Cherry Packed with color art by 11 contemporary artists "An amazing, disconcerting, and sacred book" |
Passion of Christ: A Gay Vision
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| The Passion of Christ:
A Gay Vision
Meet Jesus as a gay man in a modern city "Accessible but profound" |
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