Queerly Beloved: Bridging Spaces of Christian Faith and LGBTQ+ Identity through Creativity.

Drawing on case studies of UK LGBTQ+ Christian Organisations and movements (Open Table, Diverse Church - online, Two:23), this project critically examines how creative activities and programmes (CAAP) are used in religious spaces to engage LGBTQ+ individuals in processes and practices of community and belonging. Churches and Church organisations have long provided for communities locally, nationally and internationally (Pacione, 1999); along with being spaces where creativity - music, art, performance - are regularly used in religious activities (Wuthnow 2003). Awareness of LGBTQ+ identity and activism has increased significantly over recent decades, as has the presence of religious queer communities; three in ten LGBTQ+ people of faith in Britain participate at least once a month with their faith communities (Stonewall, 2018). Academic discussion has given some attention to these communities, often focusing on activism and identity (Valentine et al., 2013., Yip, 1997). Yet, there is need to research ordinary LGBTQ+ lives beyond the theoretical position of homonormativity (Brown, 2012); everyday religious practice is no exception. The role of religious organisations, and CAAP (e.g. drama, art, poetry, music, worship etc.), in engendering senses of community and belonging, specifically for LGBTQ+ Christians, has yet to be fully explored. LGBTQ+ Christian experiences become important for making sense of practices of community and belonging in relation to these kinds of tensions and the place of the Church and creativity in this process. Drawing on case studies (Open Table, Two:23 and Diverse Church) and employing participatory, creative approaches, this project will aim to understand, assess and then contribute to their role in developing creative methods for community and belonging for LGBTQ+ Christians.

This project makes an original and significant intervention as interest in the role of religious organisations for non-secular societal engagement grows (Tse 2014), focusing on LGBTQ+ Christian individuals and communities; a social group who are still under-studied in the geography literature despite their growing social, cultural and political visibility. It will develop geographical research on sexuality and faith by focussing on everyday communities (Brown, 2012). This project contributes to work which identifies and develops creative engagement for engendering senses of community and belonging (de Leeuw and Hawkins 2017). With access to Leicester's Creative Methods Laboratory and working alongside leading contributors to creative methodologies (Madge, 2016., Last, 2012), this project will contribute to the field of creative methods within Critical Human Geography. Overall, this project synthesises geographies of sexuality, community, religion and creativity to assess the role of CAAP in processes of belonging, whilst pursuing impactful outcomes for the Church organisations and LGBTQ+ Christians and communities (e.g. the potential formation of new CAAPs).

The research will adopt a creative methods approach at several case studies within the UK including Open Table, Diverse Church and Two:23. The research will involve participant observations of CAAP at the case study organisations (ethnography and auto-ethnography), 20 semi-structured interviews with facilitators and participants to explore involvement in and experiences of CAAP and 4-6 Participatory focus groups utilising creative mechanisms. It will also incorporate activities frequently employed in other creative, religious spaces (such as music and art classes) to develop conversation around creative participation as a method of generating belonging.