Christian Imagination and Queer African Worldmaking

In popular African Christian imagination, homosexuality is widely seen as both “un-African” and “un-Christian”. These views, often supported by the American Christian Right, have severe consequences on the ground, as they reinforce the social exclusion and marginalisation of sexual and gender minorities, translate into efforts to pass anti-LGBTQ laws and policies (most recently in Ghana and Uganda), and cause denominational fractures, such as in the Anglican Communion.

However, although Christian beliefs and actors are usually depicted as driving the opposition to homosexuality and LGBTQ rights in African societies, it is of vital importance to also draw attention to emerging counter-discourses. Christianity can, and is already, used in progressive and innovative ways—in support of sexual diversity and the quest for justice for LGBTQ people.

This lecture discusses a range of examples – of African theologians, Christian organisations, and LGBTQ activists and artists – that illustrate the potential within African Christian traditions and cultures to counter conservative anti-LGBTQ dynamics and to enable for African queer worldmaking. In short, the lecture explores how Christianity can be utilised as a major resource for a liberating imagination and politics of sexuality and social justice in Africa today.

Dr. Adriaan van Klinken is Professor of Religion and African Studies at the University of Leeds and extraordinary professor at the University of the Western Cape (South Africa). His research focuses on religion, gender, and sexuality in contemporary Africa. Recent books include: Reimagining Christianity and Sexual Diversity in Africa, co-authored with Ezra Chitando (Hurst & Co, London, 2021) and Sacred Queer Stories: Ugandan LGBTQ+ Lives and the Bible, co-authored with Johanna Stiebert, Sebyala Brian and Hudson Fredrick. Adriaan's monograph, Kenyan, Christian, Queer: Religion, LGBT Activism, and Arts of Resistance in Africa (Penn State University Press, 2019) has been a vital contribution to the intersections of religious studies and queer studies.

This event is Sponsored by the School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies at Trinity College Dublin, and is also generously supported through the AHSS Visiting Professors Fund.

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