Interrogating religion, inequality and power dynamics: theorizing queer minority religious identities in the UK through lived religion and embodied intersectionality
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Utilizing lived religion and embodied intersectionality, this article theoretically explores ways of capturing the nuance and complexity in religion, gender and sexuality research to understand embedded forms of inequality. Dominant conceptualizations understand sexuality and gender to be in tension with ‘religion’. Yet this assumes these terms are fixed, rather than fluid and unstable. Research into the lived realities of religious-identifying queer individuals disrupt these assumptions. Drawing on in-depth interviews from three individuals belonging to minority religions in the British context (Islam, Buddhism and Judaism), this article foregrounds queer voices to understand religion as lived, embodied and intersectional. I argue that a framework deploying lived religion and embodied intersectionality offer a much-needed lens to critique the taken-for-granted, unpack power relationships and deep-seated gender and sexual hierarchies. This approach recognizes that real-life bodies are impacted by the gendered and sexual hierarchies that are communally forged, and listening to marginalized individuals is necessary to not only map complexity and understand inequalities, but to challenge power differentials.
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LGBT/Queer Jews and Issues Interviews Comparisons: Between Jews and Non-Jews Gender Main Topic: Other
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Interrogating religion, inequality and power dynamics: theorizing queer minority religious identities in the UK through lived religion and embodied intersectionality. 2026: https://archive.jpr.org.uk/10.1080/09589236.2026.2647406
