“Queering Black Churches: Dismantling Heteronormativity in African American Congregations”
Brandon Thomas Crowley
Oxford Uni. Press, 2024, 288 Pages

At A Glance: “Queering Black Churches” offers a groundbreaking approach to transforming African American congregations into more inclusive spaces by systematically challenging and reconstructing their traditional heteronormative structures and ideologies.

Overview: “Queering Black Churches” by Brandon Thomas Crowley is an incisive exploration into the task of dismantling heteronormativity in African American congregations. This work employs practical theology, ecclesiology, Queer theology, and gender studies to scrutinize the entrenched heteronormative frameworks within Black churches.

Crowley delves into the transformation journeys of several historically Black churches that have become open and affirming (ONA), studying their varied strategies and coalescing them into a comprehensive approach named Black ecclesial Queering. This method is both a theoretical examination and a practical tactic focusing on the real-life experiences of Black Queer individuals.

The book powerfully argues for a deep-seated overhaul of church structures to eradicate homophobia, extending beyond superficial allyship to effect genuine change. This seminal work serves as an invaluable tool for students, scholars, and clergy in understanding and enacting structural changes in religious communities.

Thoughts from Readers: