Queer and christian. An evangelical shepherd thinks the path of faith starting from inclusion

Jason Derose* article published on the National Public Radio website (United States) on June 19, 2025. Freely translated by the volunteers of the Gionata project.

When he chose the title for his new book, Queer & Christian: Complaint the Bible, Our Faith, and Our Place at the Table (Queer and Christian. Rediscover the Bible, our faith and our place at the table), the shepherd Brandan Robertson knew that the word "queer" would cause numerous reactions. Precisely for this reason he decided to face the question from the first lines of his book.

"It is a radical declaration," he writes, "of our commitment to live authenticly, to be those who have created us to be, and not who our society, our community or our religion tell us that we must be".

Authenticity, for Robertson, is not just a word: it is a spiritual and public Path. shepherd of a small evangelical community Of queens, In New york, is followed by hundreds of thousands of people online, especially Through Tiktok. it is precisely there that he found a hungry generation of deep biblical and theological content, often inaccessible to non -experts.

"Since I started making ministry on Tiktok," he says, "I realized that there was a deep hunger among the young people of Gen Z for significant spiritual content. But too often all this is locked up in the ivory towers of the seminars ».

His videos, at times ironic and traits intensely spiritual, speak the same language as those who follow him: in the form of small sermons, costume dances and reflections on the Gospel from a queer perspective. In one of these videos, Robertson compares lazzaro's resurrection to The experience of lGBTQ+ People in the Churches: «Lazzaro was closed in a dark sepulcher, linked to funeral bandages, given for Dead. that's exactly what many churches do with lGBT people ».

The freeding power of a queer reading of the Bible

The book Queer & Christian, pubblicato da St. Martin’s Press, è un ibrido tra autobiografia, studio biblico e riflessione etica. Racconta degli anni dell’adolescenza e dei vent’anni vissuti nell’ambiente evangelico, in lotta con la propria omosessualità. Per un periodo, tentò anche di “pregare per diventare etero”, affidandosi a percorsi di counseling. Non funzionò. E oggi, Robertson non solo accetta la propria omosessualità ma la celebra.

Come altri autori cristiani LGBTQ+, Robertson affronta i cosiddetti “passaggi biblici della condanna”, offrendo risposte brevi e mirate per chi se li sente rinfacciare. Ma va oltre. Propone vere e proprie “letture queer” delle Scritture, rileggendo con nuovi occhi personaggi come Giuseppe, Ruth, Davide e Gionata.

«Giuseppe viene bullizzato dai suoi fratelli, al punto che vogliono ucciderlo. Ma grazie all’amore del Padre e alla sua perseveranza nella propria identità, diventa uno dei grandi leader di Israele», racconta Robertson. Anche nella storia di Ruth e nella relazione tra Davide e Gionata, vede la possibilità di identificazione per le persone LGBTQ+, in relazioni profonde e affettive che sfidano le letture tradizionali.

Neppure Gesù sfugge al suo sguardo queer: «Un uomo ebreo trentenne, celibe, che rifiuta la famiglia e viaggia predicando la buona notizia? È qualcosa di rarissimo per il I secolo. E rappresenta una sfida radicale ai modelli patriarcali del suo tempo».

La fede come spazio per la verità di sé

Robertson admits that ten years ago he would laughed in front of the idea of ​​a queer reading of the scriptures. But after the seminar and now to doctorally, he became a convinced promoter. "It is important that every community can recognize itself in the face of Christ," he says. "Even small spirals in biblical texts, which allow queer people to say:" Jesus can understand my experience ", are of an extraordinary therapeutic and freeding force".

This liberation, underlines, is not a removal from The bible or christianity, but a path to readings that are carriers of life.

Between the growth of welcome and cultural resistances

According to data released in 2025 by the Pew Research Center, 57% of US Christians believe that "homosexuality should be accepted by society", against 44% in 2007. The support is more marked between historical and Catholic Protestants. Even the favorable to marriage between people of the same sex are increasing: today they are 55% of Christians, against 44% of ten years ago.

However, resistances remain strong. At the beginning of June, the Southern Baptist Convention - the largest Protestant group in the United States - approved a resolution asking for the abolition of the egalitarian marriage. "We will continue to support this position, regardless of what the polls say," said Brent Leatherwood, president of the Ethics Commission of the Battisti del Sud.

An ethics founded on love, not on the rules

In the final part of his book, Robertson deals with the theme of sexual and relational ethics. After years spent praying to "heal" from his homosexuality, today he recognizes that there is nothing to heal. And indeed, there is a lot to love. While respecting the choices of those who promote chastity until marriage, Robertson proposes a less regulatory approach, inspired by Paolo's words in the first letter to the Corinthians: "Everything is legitimate, but not everything benefits".

"In summary, it is the principle: do others what you would like to be done to you," he explains. "Any sexual or relational experience must be rooted in love for the other and for oneself". Even relationships outside the marriage or non -monogami can fall within this perspective, if lived with awareness and responsibility.

His book is aimed primarily at LGBTQ+people, but his message embraces the whole Church. "I believe that queer people have a special mission: to help the heterosexual and cisgender Church to rediscover one of the central truths taught by Jesus. Dying to our false I and reborn to our true I is the path to salvation".

*Jason Derose it is corresponding to religion and ethics at NPR (National Public Radio). He worked for a long time on the intersection between faith, justice and inclusion, with particular attention to LGBTQ+ themes within religious communities.

Original text: Pastor's book 'Queer & Christian' is about more than Lgbtq acceptance