Happy: LGBTQ+ Experiences of Australian Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity

This book relates the unique experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ+) people in Australian Pentecostal-Charismatic Christian churches. Grounded in the theoretical contributions of Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Lewis Coser, and others, the book exposes the discursive battleground over the truth of sex which underlies the participants stories. These rich and complex narratives reveal the stakes of this conflict, manifested in the line a barrier restricting out LGBTQ+ people from full participation in ministry and service. Although some participants related stories of supportiveif typically conservativecongregations where they felt able to live out an authentic, integrated faith, others found they could only leave their formerly close and supportive communities behind, counter-rejecting the churches and often the faith that they felt had rejected them.