Polyamorous Bastards: James Baldwin's Opening to a Queer Religious Naturalism
Document Type
Contribution to Book
Source Publication
Meaningful Flesh: Reflections on Religion and Nature for a Queer Planet
Link to Published Version
https://punctumbooks.com/titles/meaningful-flesh-reflections-on-religion-and-nature-for-a-queer-planet/#comments
Publication Date
2018
Editor
Whitney A. Bauman
Publisher
Punctum Books
City
New York, New York
ISBN
978-1-947447-32-5
First Page
23
Last Page
51
Department
Religious Studies
Description
In this chapter, I explore in the rich conceptual space suggested by Baldwin’s bastard metaphor, specifically using the trope of the bastard to advance a queer African-American religious naturalism that resists and challenges normative views of nature, religiosity, and sexuality. I first examine Baldwin’s religious insights into the dangers of substantialist views of god and religion, which held in place white racist constructs, problematic cultural practices, and heteronormative sexualities. Inspired by Baldwin’s creative reach, I emphasize the pleasurable “roaming” of a queer African-American religious naturalism that celebrates humans’ radical relationality with each other and with other natural processes. As such, this religious naturalism resists static categories of nature, religion, and embodiment.
Recommended Citation
White, Carol W., "Polyamorous Bastards: James Baldwin's Opening to a Queer Religious Naturalism" (2018). Faculty Contributions to Books. 171.
https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/fac_books/171