Drawn from extensive, new and rich empirical research across the UK, Canada and USA, Queer Spiritual Spaces investigates the contemporary socio-cultural practices of belief, by those who have historically been, and continue to be, excluded or derided by mainstream religions and alternative spiritualities.

As the first monograph to be directly informed by 'queer' subjectivities whilst dealing with divergent spiritualities on an international scale, this book explores the recently emerging innovative spaces and integrative practices of queer spiritualities. Its breadth of coverage and keen critical engagement mean it will serve as a theoretically fertile, comprehensive entry point for any scholar wishing to explore the queer spiritual spaces of the twenty-first century.

Contents: Queer spiritual spaces, Sally R. Munt; Coming home from the wilderness: an overview of recent scholarly research on LBGTQI religiosity/spirituality in the West, Andrew K.T. Yip; Quakers: post-Christian selfhoods within the liberal sphere, Sally R. Munt; Looking for Allah: spiritual quests of queer Muslims, Andrew K.T. Yip with Amna Khalid; Queerness and Sangha: exploring Buddhist lives, Andrew K.T. Yip with Sharon Smith; Dyke spiritualities at Michigan Womyns Music Festival, Kath Browne; New age spiritualities: Findhorn and the sexual self, Kath Browne with Elizabeth Dinnie; Virtual believers: queer spiritual practice online, Kate O'Riordan with Heather White; Queer spiritual spaces: conclusion, Kath Browne; Bibliography; Appendix; Index.

About the Author: Kath Browne is a Senior Lecturer in the School of the Environment at the University of Brighton, UK.
Professor Sally R. Munt is Director of the Sussex Centre for Cultural Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton UK.
Dr. Andrew Kam-Tuck Yip is Associate Professor & Reader in Sociology at the University of Nottingham, UK.

Reviews: ‘A multivocal, multi-centred exploration of queer spirituality and place. Queer Spiritual Spaces makes a significant contribution to the field through its investigation of queer spiritualities outside of mainstream religions: Quakers, Muslims, Buddhists, feminist spiritualities, New Age communities, and even virtual spiritual realities all play a role in this important book. A must-read for students of contemporary religions, sexualites, and geographies.’
Melissa M. Wilcox, Whitman College, USA

'This volume defines a compelling new agenda for queer scholarship, moving into the much neglected area of spiritual and religious experience. Its emphasis on crossing cultural borders, on addressing both mainstream religious institutions and seemingly marginal spiritual movements, and its insistence on establishing empirical foundations for future studies, all signal a meaningful shift in the field.'
Ellen Lewin, University of Iowa, USA

'This collection […] is an extremely valuable contribution to an otherwise neglected field.'
M/C Reviews

'… an impressive 26-page bibliography provides a virtual laundry list of publications in the genre that any researcher would appreciate. Particularly interesting are the interviews with people who belong to religions such as Islam that traditionally do not tolerate alternate sexual orientations.'
Choice

'In an era where religion is increasingly playing a vocal role against equality for lesbian, gay, bi, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people - particularly marriage equality - this timely book explores the experiences of queer spiritualities and religious adherence and the places in which it occurs. Written by an interdisciplinary authorship, the chapters are as diverse as the groups they describe. The authors are successful in their aim to reject 'the assumption that gender/sexual differences and spirituality are polar opposites'… Keeping with the book's theme, the authors have appropriately written a text that cuts through traditional academic social hierarchies. They have done this by writing a book that is not so academic that it moves out of reach of the average reader. The book is written in a manner that can be appreciated by an eclectic audience of social science and theology academics, social and queer activists, religious leaders or simply someone interested in sexuality and sacred places. This is a well-written and well-researched book and I do hope that it is just the first in a series of books to be written by these authors on this topic.'
Culture, Health & Sexuality

'The edited volume Queer spiritual spaces deals with an interesting and important topic: exploring the locations and spaces of queer spirituality in a reflexive as well as an empirical perspective… Queer spiritual spaces succeeds in questioning scholarly boundaries and the way in which these direct us toward new research agendas. It is an important contribution both to religious studies and to queer studies.'
Journal of Empirical Theology

'… the text’s diverse case studies and its theoretical commitment to tracking both difference and similarity across them result in a valuable collection for the fields of sexuality and religion, and queer studies.'
Religious Studies Review

Visit Kath Browne's profile page on the University of Brighton website.

Prof Sally Munt's profile page on the University of Sussex website.

Visit Andrew Yip's profile page on the University of Nottingham website.

Extracts from this title are available to view:

Full contents list

Chapter 1 - Queer Spiritual Spaces

Index