Queerness and Evangelicalism

In the 1970s, the American anti-gay movement started gaining popularity amongst evangelical Christian communities and the common press. Evangelical churches are infamous for their use of gay-conversion camps and strict teachings about sex and sexuality. To understand the concept of a demonized homosexuality, we must look at the presence of heterosexuality in evangelical practice. To understand the abnormal, we must look at the normal. This project looks at the sexual teachings of evangelical writers and speakers to better understand the normalization of homophobia in such groups. This includes what it means to have a “Godly marriage” or the purpose of sex in a relationship. Outspoken anti-gay activists, such as Anita Bryant or James Dobson, remain the faces of evangelical politics and social thought. We must look at institutions such as Westboro Baptist Church and the founder of the church, Fred Phelps, to understand how such rhetoric can affect the function of what we see as American culture and law-making. What might conservative evangelical communities point to as “good” that helps us define what might be perceived as “bad?” Through a look back on the American anti-gay movement and evangelical sexual practice, I attempt to highlight key figures and events that become so intertwined in mainstream society and politics. This project gives a history of American evangelicalism and queerness, helping us to explore that intersection to better understand the culture with which we are familiar today.

For more information email: cehoover@eckerd.edu