“Theology is a Queer Thing” ?

A Critical Study of Elizabeth Stuart’s “Queer Theology”

Abstract

A British theologian Elizabeth Stuart (1963-) argues that theology is fundamentally “queer” enterprise since Christianity tells us the fact that all socially constructed “identities,” including sexual and gender identities, have no absolute importance. According to Stuart, whereas “gay and lesbian theology” attempts to interrogate theology based on one’s sexual or gender identity, “queer theology” attempts to interrogate the notion of sexuality and gender based on one’s Christian identity. In this paper, Stuart’s understanding of “queer theology” will be explored through an examination of her arguments about baptism, ecclesiology, and eschatology. I will also analyze her use of the term “queer” as well as the term “theology” and clarify some issues inherent in her understanding of “queer theology.”