Rainbow Theology. Patrick S. Cheng
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theology by moving the experiences of LGBTIQ people of color from the margins to the center.
a. Lifting Up Queer of Color Theologies
The first goal of this book is to lift up the writings by LGBTIQ theologians of color. Although queer theologians of color have been writing about their experiences for at least the last two decades, these writings remain largely unknown within the broader queer theological world. My hope is that this book, by bringing together and organizing these writings, will begin to break the silence with respect to the work of LGBTIQ theologians of color.
For example, an important anthology of queer theological writings published in 2007, Queer Theology: Rethinking the Western Body, includes (as far as I can tell) no contributions from LGBTIQ theologians of color.11 Other than a brief discussion about homophobia and the Black Church by the queer ethicist Kathy Rudy,12 the anthology contains no discussion (again, as far as I can tell) relating to the experiences of LGBTIQ people of color. Sadly, the Queer Theology anthology is true to its subtitle; it is indeed a rethinking of the “western body,” but bodies of African, Asian, Latin American, or Indigenous descent are not mentioned.
This is particularly problematic because queer theologies of color have been around for at least two decades. Two pioneering works of queer Black theology appeared in 1993: one about the silence of the Black Church with respect to gay and bisexual men and the HIV/AIDS pandemic;13 and another about the silence of womanist theologians with respect to Black lesbians and issues of heterosexism and homophobia.14
These two works were followed in 1996 with a groundbreaking essay about the queer Asian American Christian experience.15 The following year, 1997, saw the publication of a theological reflection about the Latina lesbian experience.16 In 2000, a revolutionary book-length work on “indecent theology” was published by a Latin American bisexual theologian.17 Since the mid-2000s, there has been a proliferation of writings by LGBTIQ theologians of color, including a book-length treatment about homophobia and the Black Church (2006),18 a queer Black critique of Black liberation theology (2010),19 and a rethinking of the Christian doctrines of sin and grace from a queer Asian American perspective (2012).20
To be sure, things are changing. The U.K. queer theologian Susannah Cornwall, in her 2011 introductory text on queer theology, Controversies in Queer Theology, included a chapter entitled “Is Queer Theology Inherently White or Western?” In that chapter, Cornwall addressed the critiques of theologians of color, including myself, that queer theologies have “failed to engage adequately with questions of ethnicity and ‘race.’”21 And the 2012 two-volume anthology Queer Religion, edited by Donald L. Boisvert and Jay Emerson Johnson, included a number of contributions from African American, Asian American, and Latina/o theologians and religious studies scholars.22
Nevertheless, to date, there has been no book-length treatment about the writings of LGBTIQ theologians of color, nor has there been any book-length work about the experiences of LGBTIQ people of color from a theological perspective. It is my hope that this book will begin to fill the gap in the literature.
b. From the Margins to the Center
The second goal of this book is to rethink the enterprise of Christian theology by moving the experiences of LGBTIQ people of color from the margins to the center. That is, this book asks what a queer of color theology can contribute to the larger theological enterprise. What does the unique position of LGBTIQ people of color—that is, those individuals who are both fully queer and fully of color—have to say about the Gospel? Where is God in the experiences of LGBTIQ people of color?
To date, LGBTIQ people have been relegated to the margins with respect to theological and ecclesial debates about sexuality. Whether it is the debates in the Anglican Communion over the 2003 consecration of the Right Reverend V. Gene Robinson as the first openly-gay partnered person to be consecrated a bishop,23 or the debates in the United States over civil marriage equality, the lines of debate are usually divided between straight and cisgender communities of color on the one hand, and white LGBTIQ communities on the other. LGBTIQ people of color are often rendered invisible in these debates.
By contrast, this book will argue that the experiences of LGBTIQ people are central to the theological enterprise. Specifically, this book will propose a “rainbow theology,” which is, simply put, a theology that celebrates the experiences of queer people of color. The book will explore the three rainbow themes of (1) multiplicity, (2) middle spaces, and (3) mediation. The book will also argue that these rainbow themes are not only central to the queer of color experience, but they are also central to Christian theology itself.
These three rainbow themes are contrasted with what this book will call “monochromatic theology,” which is characterized by the opposing themes of (1) singularity, (2) staying home, and (3) selecting sides. Many progressive theologies—including early liberation theologies—are actually monochromatic theologies. That is, monochromatic theologies focus primarily on liberation from a singular oppression, as opposed to challenging the interplay of multiple oppressions. Monochromatic theologies also assume that there is a single, metaphorical “home” that consists of others who experience this singular oppression. Finally, monochromatic theologies urge those who are oppressed by this singular oppression to “choose” the side of the oppressed (as opposed to the oppressors). In reality, however, LGBTIQ people of color experience complicated dynamics of oppression that call into question the monochromatic themes of singularity, staying home, and selecting sides. By contrast, rainbow theology—with its themes of multiplicity, middle spaces, and mediation—can be a helpful corrective to monochromatic theologies.24
In sum, rainbow theology arises out of the specific experiences of LGBTIQ people of color, but it is not limited to such individuals. Rather, it is a new way of doing theology. Rainbow theology takes seriously the unique position of queers of color with respect to the LGBTIQ community and communities of color, and it challenges all theologies to reflect upon the intersections of race, sexuality, and spirit.
3. Overview of the Book
This book is divided into two parts. Part I of the book focuses on “queer of color theologies”—that is, theologies written by theologians who identify as both queer and of color. Chapter one introduces some of the definitions and key theoretical issues relating to such queer of color theologies.
Chapters two through five each provide a survey of the main subgroups of queer of color theology. Instead of covering the theologies chronologically, I have chosen to organize them by racial and ethnic groups. I do this not to reinforce traditional racial and ethnic categories, but rather to explore certain shared themes—and differences—within each subgroup.
Specifically, chapter two looks at queer Black theologies with its themes of Black Church exclusion, reclaiming Black lesbian voices, and challenging Black liberation theologies. Chapter three looks at queer Asian American theologies with its themes of Asian and Asian American church exclusion, critiquing LGBTIQ racism, and highlighting transnational perspectives. Chapter four looks at queer Latina/o theologies with its themes of living on the borderlands, challenging machismo, and crossing literary and religious borders. Chapter five looks at Two-Spirit Indigenous scholarship with its themes of resisting settler colonialism, recognizing Two-Spirit identities, and doing the work of allies.
Part II of the book focuses on the construction of a rainbow theology. Chapter six introduces the concept of rainbow theology and provides an overview to the three rainbow themes of (1) multiplicity, (2) middle spaces, and (3) mediation. As noted above, these three themes are contrasted with the monochromatic themes of (1) singularity, (2) staying home, and (3) selecting sides. Chapters seven, eight, and nine examine each of the above three rainbow themes in greater detail. Chapter ten concludes Part II of the