Nov. 17, 2010 - Issue #787 : Margaret Atwood

Queermonton

Opening religion

Lampman Chapel is narrow space within the hallowed halls of Union Theological Seminary School—part of Columbia University on Manhattan's Upper West Side. All design considerations in the tight room are in honour of the altar at the front of the room. Tonight a little table is tucked in near the altar and is packed with snacks. There are 14 of us sitting in an elongated circle, some of us with our backs to the altar. One of the facilitators calls the meeting to order with the promise that tonight will be a little less business, a little more fun. Everyone agrees this is a good idea.

Like other post-secondary schools Union has student groups, which they call caucuses. Caucuses host at least one of the daily Chapel Services a year—a chance for caucuses to share their vision of Church with the rest of the student body. Queer caucus hosted last week. Part of the meeting tonight will be to talk about how it went. I am at the meeting because as part of my residency at Union's Institute for Art, Religion and Social Justice I want to get involved and get a sense of queerness at a religious—albeit notoriously progressive—institution.

The meeting being "a little more fun" allows for conversation to flow freely. At one point it meanders to Union history. In the 1960s there was a letter sent from a prominent community member asking for all gay students to be outed and expelled from the school. Tensions were high. People were scared. In response all the faculty signed an open letter stating that if the request went forward they would resign. Proverbial chests puff out around the circle as the story is told. People feel proud of their brave academic linage. Later the conversation steers to the everyday—the hassle of having to come out as a theological student. Almost everyone has a story about chatting up a potential date when the unavoidable question of "what do you do?" comes up. Some stall, others disclose quickly. All agree reactions are the same: drinks become hidden, swearing disappears, and in some cases what was a flirt turns into a request to be ministered to. As one guy shares, nothing gets an unwanted hand off your thigh faster than, "I am not sure how my seminary advisor would feel about this." Everyone laughs.

In time, business arises. Consensus is queer caucus service was a success. Stories are shared of students enjoying the inclusion of secular modern pop music (Lady Gaga) and the dance party vibe. Upsetting though was how some Union people openly refused to come to service because it was hosted by Queer Caucus. For some of the Queer Caucus members this highlights how open hostility towards LGBT people, in a way that is no longer accepted towards other communities, is still part of the Union culture and the larger religious world. Last week Rev Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Bishop in the Episcopal Church announced in the face of death threats and unrelenting pressure since he was elected he would be retiring. An underpinning of tonight's conversations seems to be queer theologians are isolated within their selected vocation, in some cases their calling, for being queer, and then marginalized within queer communities for belonging to religion. While there is a lot of work being done to better queer theology, there is a long road ahead and an even larger road from the past to contend with.

For all the ground breaking faculty, wise students and decades of progressive milestones, Union is governed by the larger oppressive, heterosexist, structures of academia, church, America and western culture that, in part, keep us all down. Thinking about this I realize that Union is a place where being LGBT is still a queer thing to be.

Up until now I have conflated religion with conservatism and oppression (for good reason). The time has come for me to unbraid this narrow view of religion. Be more open. It seems that beyond faith, Union has a lot to teach me. V

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