Church has a long history of being important in the Black community, especially for women. A 2011 Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 74% of Black women believe that religion is important to their lives. However, for Black queer women the topic of religion and church attendance can be interesting and complex. Although there is a common myth that the Black community is more homophobic than others, the 2014 Religious Landscape Study by The Pew Research Center shows that 51% of historically Black protestant Christians believe homosexuality should be accepted and 40% of them support same-sex marriage. However, although individual congregants may support same-sex marriage, few majority Black protestant denominations do. According to another Pew Research Study, the three denominations that have the highest percentage of Black members are the National Baptist Convention (99%), the African Methodist Episcopal Church (94%), and the Church of God in Christ (84%). According to statements posted on their websites and a Human Rights Campaign report, each of these denominations prohibits same-sex marriage.
Not all traditionally Black churches are out-rightly homophobic, and many churches that do not support same-sex marriage or ordain LGBTQ ministers may openly accept members of the LGBTQ community. However, for some people, finding an LGTBTQ affirming church is important. Church is a place to be ‘spiritually fed’, renewed and restored. Attending a church that has openly LGBTQ members and ministers can help queer people in the church feel welcomed and supported. People looking to get married and start a family may feel that it is significant to have pastors who are licensed to marry them. They may seek a church where they can raise a family without having the fear that their children will be ostracized for having two parents of the same gender. It means something to have reassurance that when you go to church you won’t hear a sermon or interpretation of scripture that condemns homosexuality.
For Black queer women, there are several theologians that offer womanist and LGBTQ affirming interpretations of scripture. Bishop Yvette Flunder, Pamela Lightsey, and Emelie Townes, just to name a few, are pioneering, influential Biblical scholars and ministers that represent for Black queer women and prove that religion does not have to conflict with LGBTQ identities. These women advocate for and support Black queer women in the church. However, spiritual affirmation and nourishment are not exclusive to the academy; Black queer women’s literature can also revitalize the spirit.
I first read Alice Walker’s The Color Purple when I was about 13 or 14 years old. During a time when I was just beginning to understand my sexuality, reading about Celie and Shug’s love for each other connected with a part of me that I wasn’t even able to articulate at the time. Celie’s story of overcoming trauma and ultimately understanding that she deserves pleasure taught me the resilience and divinity inherent within Black women, even at a young age when I was just starting to define for myself what it meant to be one. The profound accounts of personal identity in books like The Color Purple give depth to the stories of Black queer women, who are so often reduced to over-sexualized characters in other forms of media. Reading about Black queer women in literature can be just as spirit-filling as a Sunday morning church service.
Spirituality represents our connection with the divine, both within us and in the universe. Although traditionally, biblical texts and communion with other believers have been heralded as the most vital parts of spiritual life, I believe literature that sustains and touches the deepest parts of ourselves has divine and supernatural power to heal as well. In a world that marginalizes and often overlooks us, it is important for Black queer women to find some source of steady spiritual fulfillment, whether that be in a church pew or in a classic novel.
