Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Mapping Queer Religion in Sweden – an ethnography of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim LGBTQIA+ people and their lived experiences

Lundell, Elin LU orcid (2024) Feminist and Queer Spatialities: Care, Connection and Change
Abstract
While many religious institutions promote hetero- and cis-normative notions of sex, gender, and sexuality, not all LGBTQIA+ people leave religion and not all people who practice religion are straight and cis-gendered. In my research, I explore the lived experiences of queer Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Sweden through on- and offline ethnographic fieldwork aiming to gain insight into how religion is experienced and practised from a queer and transgender perspective – something that has not yet been done beyond Protestant Christianity in the Swedish context.

In this paper specifically, I map how the religious queers in Sweden move through digital and non-digital social spaces while exploring their relationships with themselves,... (More)
While many religious institutions promote hetero- and cis-normative notions of sex, gender, and sexuality, not all LGBTQIA+ people leave religion and not all people who practice religion are straight and cis-gendered. In my research, I explore the lived experiences of queer Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Sweden through on- and offline ethnographic fieldwork aiming to gain insight into how religion is experienced and practised from a queer and transgender perspective – something that has not yet been done beyond Protestant Christianity in the Swedish context.

In this paper specifically, I map how the religious queers in Sweden move through digital and non-digital social spaces while exploring their relationships with themselves, fellow queers, religious authority, God, parents, friends, and lovers. Through interviews, participant observation and visual mapping, I move beyond simplified notions of exclusion and inclusion in religious and queer communities. Instead, I explore how research participants navigate and negotiate religious and queer spaces without necessarily looking for external validation from other religious or queer people.

While some religious queers may find it necessary that their immediate family or religious community know about their sexual and/or gender identity, many of the participants in my research do not. Inspired by the queer of colour concept of “inviting in” as an alternative to “coming out”, I approach the way the participants choose to reveal or not reveal information about themselves as a questioning of normative divisions between “public” and “private”.

Through the religious and queer geography of Sweden that I am mapping in this paper, I offer a more complex story of queer religious life than the binary notions of exclusion/inclusion or closeted/out allow for. Focusing on the way queer religious people approach and move through social spaces gives new insight into how religion, gender, and sexuality are lived in conjunction on an everyday basis.
(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
conference name
Feminist and Queer Spatialities: Care, Connection and Change
conference location
Dublin, Ireland
conference dates
2024-08-21 - 2024-08-22
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
19939a7d-3a38-4a5d-accb-624d19276520
alternative location
https://e934b89a-f4cc-4ab2-8208-09d046b90658.filesusr.com/ugd/dc0f14_304aaaed53524571b0638102edc39daf.pdf
date added to LUP
2024-09-03 10:06:42
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:53:08
@misc{19939a7d-3a38-4a5d-accb-624d19276520,
  abstract     = {{While many religious institutions promote hetero- and cis-normative notions of sex, gender, and sexuality, not all LGBTQIA+ people leave religion and not all people who practice religion are straight and cis-gendered. In my research, I explore the lived experiences of queer Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Sweden through on- and offline ethnographic fieldwork aiming to gain insight into how religion is experienced and practised from a queer and transgender perspective – something that has not yet been done beyond Protestant Christianity in the Swedish context.<br/><br/>In this paper specifically, I map how the religious queers in Sweden move through digital and non-digital social spaces while exploring their relationships with themselves, fellow queers, religious authority, God, parents, friends, and lovers. Through interviews, participant observation and visual mapping, I move beyond simplified notions of exclusion and inclusion in religious and queer communities. Instead, I explore how research participants navigate and negotiate religious and queer spaces without necessarily looking for external validation from other religious or queer people. <br/><br/>While some religious queers may find it necessary that their immediate family or religious community know about their sexual and/or gender identity, many of the participants in my research do not. Inspired by the queer of colour concept of “inviting in” as an alternative to “coming out”, I approach the way the participants choose to reveal or not reveal information about themselves as a questioning of normative divisions between “public” and “private”.<br/><br/>Through the religious and queer geography of Sweden that I am mapping in this paper, I offer a more complex story of queer religious life than the binary notions of exclusion/inclusion or closeted/out allow for. Focusing on the way queer religious people approach and move through social spaces gives new insight into how religion, gender, and sexuality are lived in conjunction on an everyday basis.<br/>}},
  author       = {{Lundell, Elin}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  title        = {{Mapping Queer Religion in Sweden – an ethnography of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim LGBTQIA+ people and their lived experiences}},
  url          = {{https://e934b89a-f4cc-4ab2-8208-09d046b90658.filesusr.com/ugd/dc0f14_304aaaed53524571b0638102edc39daf.pdf}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}