What does it mean to become religiously queer or queerly religious in one's everyday life? What narratives of becoming 'person' emerge from these lived realities? Prof. Sharon A. Bong, our visiting professor from Malaysia in May 2023, in this seminar addresses these questions along a joint reading and discussion of her recent book Becoming Queer and Religious in Malaysia and Singapore (Bloomsbury 2020). Therein, she explores the personal journeys of several GLBTIQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer) persons negotiating the tensions between living out their sexuality and religiosity in the context of Malaysia and Singapore. By sharing their stories, Bong’s book presents a broad spectrum of queer strategies emerging from participants' narratives of 'becoming', which encompass becoming Asian, becoming postcolonial, becoming sexually religious and religiously sexual, and becoming 'persons'. These strategies are used in the book as counterpoints to nationhood narratives of becoming Asian or postcolonial, which are still mired in religious-sponsored and colonial-inherited sexual regulations. Finally, Bong shows how the insistence of identifying as both queer and religious is critical in challenging the conservative social-political milieu surrounding issues of gender diversity and inclusion within these south-east Asian states. The seminar will offer an exciting cross-cultural reading of an Asian perspective on Religion / Theology and Gender.
- Lehrende/r: Anja Heinz
- Lehrende/r: Norbert Hintersteiner